X: Infinite Legacy
by Hardman 5509
Summary: The war continued to ravage the land. Heroes and heroines must come together to fight a battle that has started long before them. So we shall read. Rated T for language, sexual situations, violence and other experiences. Once upon a time...
1. We Are One

_It always begins like this._

_War. How many wars had this battened planet suffered in the last few decades? The answer may be low in numerical value, yet too high. _

_Sigma. War had become synonymous with him. His footprints burn the earth. Every time he blinks, a person or Reploid would be dead. He just wasn't the match, but the fire, the fuse, and the bomb. And he enjoyed it. He enjoyed war; regardless that he lost every war. He got a few small victories every now and then, but he needed more. He wanted the heads of the Maverick Hunters. He wanted to fill the earth with the humans; to help the planet live again. _

_So he continued. With a new virus. It got called the 'Legion' Virus. It wasn't as strong as the Sigma, Zero or Nightmare Virus, so the Hunters and recovered Reploids were fine. But those infected now become the mindless slaves of Sigma. He controlled over fifty thousand Reploids at once, though a group just followed one order at a time. "For we are many" Was something they always seen._

_A year after the first attack has passed. Everyone has worked overtime to combat the army and find the cure._

_And so…we open the book to the first page of the first chapter. X, Zero, and Axl are fighting in Pasture City. Alia, Layer, and Pallette are double tasking research and navigating. Signas is using of his powers to help everyone; not just the Hunters, but the citizens. No one had time to complain. Those who did got instantly fired, and some got killed when they started to complain during a hostile firefight. _

_So…we shall read. Our story is long and has moments of brutality, but that just how life runs its course. _

_Once upon a time…

* * *

_

Explosions continued to wreck the city. Firefighters and police had given up six months ago everywhere.

X had taken the center of the city. He mostly focused on the flying enemies, as they carried the bombs. He couldn't stop them from blowing up and causing collateral damage, but he needed to stop complete destruction. He carved a path through Main Street, directing the attention of the enemy. Bombs did hit the buildings, but now mostly focused on X.

"X! The virus levels are rising. You'll be fine, but there are still citizens in the buildings."

"Which building?" X said, avoiding a bomb. Shrapnel flew through the air like arrows, but it bounced off X's back.

"From your position, third on left!"

"Send the copter to the Square! I'll get them!"

"Roger!" Alia quickly sent the signal for the copter and told them where the landing zone was marked. She went back to her computer to extend the search, from 25 meters to 50 meters. Zero and Axl's position also appeared, along with the location of enemies and citizens. After a quick calculation; the citizens were too far spread out to get them all to the square. She called two more copters and gave them the best locations to land.

"Layer, how's your work going?" She asked. Layer downed a cup of coffee and quickly typed a command in to rush the job. She waved back; too buried in work. The enemy bombers and soldiers were the latest models sent by Sigma. Pasture City was close to Hunter Base, winning it for Sigma would be the biggest victory for him in nine months. She sent constant updates to the leaders and to the labs to help produce some new weapons and armor best suited for the war. She got up to make a new pot.

"Axl! You moron!" Pallette yelled into her microphone. "Stay away from the bombs! 13 times! You blind?" She had been studying city maps to find safe areas for evacuation. Axl had boasted he didn't need help, so he went in with a personal radar. First minute in, the device got destroyed. So Pallette had to keep Axl's head on straight and help civilians. The few remaining and willing police officers waited on the other line.

"What? These guys are designed to stop us!" He replied back, shooting around in a circle, destroying the soldiers around him. He rolled back to dodge laserfire, and returned fire. He quickly ran off when the next fleet flew in.

"Aren't they all?" Pallette retorted back. She growled, and went back to looking through the maps.

Zero took his time. Out of all of them, he just recently fought the same enemy at the S. S. Doppler. The army had entered in the west, so he headed there to thin out the forces. They pretty much ran right into his sword for a while, but got smart and waited to run across when he wasn't there. But it didn't matter. Zero had already destroyed the order of things. If any of the soldiers got across, they would be caught in either a bomb or a buster shot.

The Hunters were winning. Slowly winning. They would save Pasture City from Sigma, but not from destruction. The damage could be permanent; putting into fact about Sigma's endless desire for revenge cold result in a future attack. Or not. Sigma is labeled a Maverick, so by reducing the term 'Maverick' down, Sigma could also be insane. So there's a chance that he won't attack again, rather going for a predictable defeat if he attacked Hunter HQ.

Or was something hidden from the Hunter's knowledge?

X entered the building. Despite the outside appearance, the apartment building had caught fire. Add this to the weakening structure, and the place was a hazard. X sighed; how come every building with people in it always proves to be a challenge just to go up one floor? Running at the opposite wall, he bounced off over to the next floor. He continued; the signals had come from the top floor.

The fire had started from here; telling by the ash on the floor confirmed that the fire had been long, but not very strong. Lights flickered. X activated the scanner in his helmet, leading him to the citizens. Apartment 777. Lucky numbers. Nope the people inside were just as a lucky. It didn't help that the trail of burn marks actually started under the door. The marks were thin; someone set the fire on purpose. Looks like X would have to make a arrest. The door was slightly burned, but someone put out the fire burning it; water had stained the carpet.

X, with one fist, battered the door down. Nothing laid in the living room, but a noise came from down the hall. X set his buster to 'Stun'. He took each step as slowly and quietly as possible. He didn't want to alert whoever waited inside. He set the scanner to X-Ray, and did a 360 surveillance. He found four bodies. One large and fat, and holding something in both hands; like a gun. Two bodies moved only in ways that a person bound could do. One didn't move. Dead or asleep, it did have a skeleton.

X went straight to the door of the room. The master bedroom, according to the plans. The large body remained quiet and unmoving. He pointed the thing in his hands towards the door and, in a move he would regret, locked and loaded his shotgun. The body didn't seem to react to giving away his position or revealing he had a weapon; in fact, he was thinking that it would scare away whoever it was. The two bound bodies gave off small whimpers.

X quickly considered the best options to handle the situation. Repeat before, and get shot or get the hostages shot. Kicking the door would work, if not for the door being designed to prevent damage to the hinges. Fire a buster shot? The man's body mass would cause spasms, and potentially fire off the gun, hitting him or a hostage. Upping the power would cause problems back at HQ, something he, or the Hunters couldn't afford.

But he looked back to see something he could use.

The man, Howard we shall call him, used to be a prisoner back at the highest human security prison in the world. What got him locked up? Two counts of arson; he burned down a girlfriend's house and a house of a public servant. Ten counts of attempted murder; his girlfriend, her parents, her current boyfriend, the public servant, his two daughters, and three guests. Three counts of manslaughter and murder in the second degree; the mom, one of the daughters and one of the guests (Another public servant) perished in the fire. One count of resisting arrest, he barricaded himself in a house. Two counts of kidnapping, the house had a couple inside. Three counts of assault with a deadly weapon; he shot the couple in the leg and a police officer in the arm.

He might have gotten away with it. If he's wasn't stark raving mad, posting his actions online and hacking the news channel to announce his greatness. He said his reason for doing all of this was because his girlfriend dumped him when he started to stalk her (He denied stalking, calling it 'protection' against those hate love.) and the public servant laughed at him for not helping him raising attention for his original story. (Bio Fighter: Starring the ORIGINAL character, Ryu Redfield, the long lost brother of Chris and Claire Redfield!) He believed that people should immediately like him, as 'God' (Actually a drunk Santa) told him he was destined for great things. (Because the six-year Howard somehow got a bottle of vodka off a rich man to give to the Santa.)

Due to the war, he escaped, only after violently attacking a female guard that refused him attention. He might have gone further, but once again, the escape was supposed to be a quiet operation, and she raised the alarm, resulting in half of the escapees being returned to his cells. So being hunted by the remaining police, convicts wanting to kill him for preventing their friends from leaving, and bounty hunters, he came to Pasture City, were he stole a shotgun off a corpse of a Hunter, and took control of a apartment. He had no real reason to set the fire. Ryu Redfield may just told him to do it.

But now, the person who came was gone. He wiped his forehead clean of sweat and stress. Good, now no one will come between him and his sweetheart. Or sweethearts. But wait! A noise sounding like something ripping came from the living room. Hold on. He left something in the living room.

The home-made, all-original, Redfield bracelets! He spent so long finding strands of red rope and then glue them across some brass bracelets he found! He rushed outside…

…and promptly got smashed over the head by a fist. Howard laid there, not moving.

X didn't mean to rip the bracelets. He was going for the large Ming vase, the one thing that hadn't been overturned. He fell down ,and accidently tore off some the rope.

* * *

A hour later we shall jump ahead to. The battle is calming down. The army that Sigma had sent in has nearly been destroyed, now the regular Hunters could come in and comb the area for any hiding enemies. X, Zero, Axl still remained, there was still the matter of a investigation needed. The city did just got installed with the latest defense technology, due to the threat to the Hunters. But when the attack began, the systems went offline. What happened?

The company, Pentagram, wasn't being too friendly with the Hunters.

Alia directed them to the building that held the main defense system. The door, normally you would need a keycard to open, had been forced open by someone with large hands, as the metal had been bent. The three went inside. Power had been shut off. But the power generator is directly connected to the defense grid. Someone, or something had sabotaged the whole building.

"Pallette, how's the map coming?" Asked Zero.

"The contractors are bunch of jerks! I'm trying to explain to them about the break-in, but they're threatening to call their lawyers. They think we're going to go after them for their system failure!" Pallette said, while she passed the phone over to Alia to negotiate with the contractors.

"Well, conspiracy is out of the question. Sigma would never work with the humans. We'll try to wing it. See if you can hack their network to get us something."

"Roger! Over and out!" Zero signed off, and went over to where X and Axl were trying to open the door to the 'employee' only area.

"Let me guess, they changed the passwords." He said. Axl nodded his head, as he entered the password again. X sat there, trying to use a hacking device. Zero used something more useful. His sword, of course. He carved the door of its frame. He bowed, and the two other hunters clapped.

"Ummm…Zero?" Alia called. "They just witnessed the damage though the cameras."

"Tell them eat shit. Also, the map for this place would be nice too. After all, we don't want to end up in a black-ops room now?" Zero smiled straight into the cameras. A mere second later, the map for the complex appeared on Pallette's screen. Zero held up a thumbs-up to the camera and he ran forward with the others.

"Alia. They hanged up. They didn't say anything else." Layer said, as she had the buck. Alia nodded and got back to work. Pallette entered a few commands, and the map got sent to the Hunters, along with the locations of recharge stations, the security room, the generator room and hangar for the defense bots. All six of them agreed to visit the security room first, the intruders may have caught on camera.

"Hold on." Layer's voice echoed through the empty hall. Everyone stopped.

"I'm getting…enemy signals? Huh?" Layer bought up a holomap, showing the locations for the Hunters, marked in blue. Three red blips were advancing upon the location of the blue blips. But something was different. The red blips were faint, and were getting fainter by the second. Alia quickly took control of the hallway's camera to get a better view. Despite she chose the camera nearest the enemy, she couldn't see anything.

"Incoming invisible enemy! Switch to alternate vision!" Alia called, urgency in her voice. X nodded, and started to flip through vision modes. X-Ray. Heat Vision. Energy Detection. Nothing popped up. The red blips now stood right in front of the Hunters. Alia look into another camera. Nothing. Layer checked her findings again.

"Is there something wrong with the program?" Asked Alia.

"No-o…the computer confirms hostile presence." Layer meekly replied.

"All right, then!" Axl put away one pistol, and aimed the other at the area in front of them. "Let's prove it then." He fired a single shot.

It hit something, all right. But it bounced off whatever it was, and continued past the Hunters and down the hall.

"Something…is here? What the…" Alia said, before doing a more advanced search.

Static appeared. Static appeared on all of the screens. The commutations ended.

"Alia? Come in! What happened?" X shouted.

"LOOK!" Axl pointed to where the enemy was. And now it is there. Three grey soldiers wielding shields and blaster rifles stood there, as if they was there. They put their rifles through the opening in their shields and opened fire. The Hunters rolled over to the nearest adjacent hallway.

"LAYER! We need scan, now!" Zero called. He heard nothing but static. The gunfire continued.

X braved it and fire a few shots while rolling under the fire to another hall. The buster shots all disappeared at the shields.

"Well, what do you think would happen?" Yelled Axl, as he rotated through his inventory of weapons until he found his G-Launcher, and launched several explosive shots. The soldiers got knocked back, and one lost his shield. X rolled back, and with a charge shot, destroyed the soldier. The one on the right grabbed the fallen blaster and stuffed it in the shield's slot. Placing the shield upright standing, he fired both guns. Nothing changed.

Axl fired more shots. The soldiers stood their ground, not moving. Zero quickly leapt back into the hall, and performed Raikōsen, and got over the heads of the soldiers, and destroyed a light structure. It fell, landing on the both of the soldiers. Zero landed, and then repeated the same move, finishing the soldiers.

X continued to contact Alia. "Nothing. We're blind."

"Not really. Pallette uploaded the map." Axl said, bringing up a holomap. According to the map, the security room just laid three corners away. Axl hit a few buttons, and the map switched to the basement. The generator room and the hangar were neighbors. The complex had fifteen floors (Not including the basement); minus three in the bombing. Fortunately, the rooms needed were just on the first floor and the basement. They could explore the higher floors, but nothing of interest was there.

"You think that Pentagram shut us off?" X asked.

"Doubt it. Sigma's forces just led us into a trap." Zero bent down to one of the bodies. A 'E', the signal of Sigma, was on the back on the shields. "Suggestions, anyone?"

"Spring the trap!" Axl said, slapping one of the bodies in the face, copying it. He became the soldier, and grabbed a shield and a blaster. "The cameras are down, so they're blind too. So I clear the way for you guys to do your thing!"

"And what thing is that?" Zero asked.

"Killing!"

"Don't use that word…."X said rather meekly.

"All right, all right. Come on! I escort you two prisoners to the security room." He pulled off the soldiers two handcuffs.

"Wait. How come they have handcuffs if the first thing they did was fire at us?" X asked as Axl cuffed him.

"Like I would know! Come on. We're wasting sunlight." Axl slapped the last cuff on Zero and butted the two in the back with the gun.

Two more soldiers stood guard at the security room. Motionless. They didn't have the virus, but they didn't need it. Sigma's personal friends. They only followed only one command at a time. These two were under the order, 'stay and prevent visitors to the security room.' And that meant everyone. Even Sigma himself.

But Axl the guard didn't know this. He walked up to the door, and the two guards blocked the door with their shields.

"Hello. I located two of the Hunters. I'll like to store them in the most secure room in the building." The guards didn't move. They didn't even bother to check if one of their own was telling the truth. Axl tried to move forward, but he just bumped right back into the shields.

"All righty then." Axl drew his pistols, and shot both guards in the head. They didn't bother to react. Axl dropped the disguise and opened the door. X went over to the computer and went into the archive to go back around the time of the attack. Axl waited outside, placing the guards back up, and hiding any evidence of their death. He made them return to their positions.

X flipped back a hour before the first confirmed bomb. Normal day with normal people with normal interactions. Poor souls. They didn't know.

It started with a giant machine with grippers plied open the door, and a hail of gunfire entered, killing all in the main lobby. X's stomach, as artificial as it may be, churned. Several of the soldiers cleaned up the mess, throwing the bodies outside. The cameras from the outside had been destroyed fifteen minutes before the attack. The security guards looking at the cameras were the first victims.

After a full minute of a disgusting body removal, two familiar faces came in.

"Vile." Zero said through gritted teeth. The first person to kill him.

"Dynamo." X said with anger. One of the more annoying people in his life.

"Oh, old friends, eh?" Axl came in, shutting the door slightly to not make the guards fall. X and Zero shot back with glares. Axl held up his hands.

"Looks like Dynamo is under the employ of Sigma again." Zero said, creating a holo-log for later. "Haven't heard anything from him since the Nightmare incident. "

"I heard about this guy during my short stint in Red Alert." Axl pointed at the image of Dynamo, currently tossing a boulder at a security guard who fired back. "He did a small job; stole some information about a small Maverick hideout. He did the job sometime after the Nightmare incident and before I entered Red Alert."

"Hmm. I knew we would we meet again."

All three jumped. Dynamo had directly addressed the camera.

"Yes, I'm talking to you, X. I've no doubt that you would see this, knowing you."

"I'm holding in the urge to respond." X said. He didn't want to be a rage now.

"So…Sigma has offered me the continent that everyone wants to own, Australia. Yeah, I know, silly, but I do like a good fight, especially with you. And besides, hey, Australia." He laughed, and Vile tapped on his shoulders. Dynamo looked around, and Vile pointed off screen. Dynamo nodded, and held up one finger. Vile went off.

"Well, I gotta to go. Tell you what. Meet me in the hangar. Then we can duel once again." Dynamo flicked the camera, ending the feed. Axl checked the basement map, and placed a marker on the hangar.

"Axl, what are you doing?" Asked Zero.

"Zero, did you go deaf?" Replied Axl.

"No, you spiky-hair fool! Why should we run straight at Dynamo? He's been waiting for us for at least five hours! Who knows what traps he made had laid at this point? Take off that marker!… " Zero reached over to the holo-map device and attempted to take it, but Axl dodged.

"Listen! Dynamo may have information. So let us get it!" Axl tripped over X's outstretched leg, and the device fell into Zero's hands. He pressed 'delete' and the marker vanished. "Oh, come on, guys! Aren't we supposed to take down Sigma and his cohorts? We can't just leave him here, he might repeat the situation!"

"We KNOW, Axl." Zero said. "We will get him. But first…" Zero placed a marker at the generator room. "Restore the power. The survivors could use it to get the electric trains running again and other electric devices. Remember what Signas said. 'People first. We must serve the people first.'"

"Oh yeah? I got a better motto." Axl said with actual anger, rather with playful anger. " It goes like this. 'Strike first to save later.' Take down those who command the army to end the war faster. X, you agree right? I mean, you defeat Sigma, and the war is over! And you go after him from the beginning, right?"

X sighed, thinking. "You're both right. Sigma needs to stop as soon as possible, but we need to make the world stable first. We can't go straight to Sigma without knowing he might have a bomb placed somewhere, and waiting for us to meet face-to-face to set it off. We'll work both sides, okay?" Zero and Axl nodded. X smiled, and hit a button.

"All right, I opened the door to the basement. Let's go…" The Hunters quietly walked out and closed the door, not to disturb the corpses. Axl patted one on the head. It rolled. Axl quickly fixed the head back and tip-toed away. The head rolled off after Axl left the hall. Like dominos, the other head fell off, and the body fell down back to what they were when Axl shot off.

* * *

X flipped the switch. The generator came back on.

It took a half-hour to reach the generator. Some soldiers patrolled the halls, but they all fell to X, Zero, Axl. They used the soldier's pre-programmed mind against them. Thankfully, no one was paying any attention, so no one fixed the problem. Axl started to have fun, despite all of the destruction.

He stopped when he saw the bodies.

The generator took some time to fix. The Mavericks had tore off several parts, but Zero managed to make some make-shift parts for replacing.

"All right. Good. People can be a bit more comfortable now." Zero said, wiping off some oil. X tapped his communicator.

"Damn. We're still alone in here. I would like to talk Alia and tell her about the power and Dynamo, but now? We have to do double paperwork." X said, sitting down on a ledge. Axl, in a playful mood (Like always.) decided to talk with X.

"Oh…is our blue bomber pining for a lady clan in pink?" Axl said, like if he was going to sing.

"Axl…" X gritted through his teeth.

"And that confirms it! Oh come on, X, it's plainly obvious. What's the matter? Scared?"

"Ergh…"

"Or is it disappointment? She did downgrade. So do prefer long or short hair?"

"AXL…"

"Heh heh heh heh…X, you're fun!"

"Is this fun?" X punched Axl with his buster. Axl rolled, laughing all of the way.

"Don't hit him, X. He wants it." Zero put away the tools in the toolbox in the wall. "He wants you to react. So ignore him. Come on, X, don't be a child." X growled. Zero just threw up his shoulders.

"All right. Let's go after Dynamo." Axl got up and walked to the door. Zero grabbed him. "Hold on. He'll be waiting for us. Walk through the door, and get blown up. If he's actually still there."

"HE will be there." X got up and fiddled with his buster. "Dynamo would never leave without fighting me. Why else would he indirectly send a message to me?"

"Then, where's Vile? Isn't he still on the idea of 'kill X and Zero with bigger guns'?" Axl asked.

"Yeah. I wouldn't know. He could also be behind this wall." Zero pointed the wall that lead to the hangar. "Well, let's go find a vent…"

_BOOM_

Both Axl and Zero covered their faces as debris flew at them. As soon as the dust cleared, they saw a hole in the wall, and X's buster smoking.

"X! The hell!" Axl shouted.

"Subterfuge, X! Subterfuge means not drawing attention to yourself!" Zero also added.

"Oh, look and stop complaining." X pointed.

Vile and Dynamo laid on the floor, hurt and groaning.

"…at least warn us!" Axl added as a final remark.

The three stepped through the hole and picked up the two Maverick leaders.

"Oww…X! That wasn't fair!" Dynamo whined. X punched him.

"X…damn you. I won't even do that." Vile said, with no emotion in his voice. He got punched by Zero.

"X…well, I will say this. You did a smart move there, taking down the wall and avoiding the traps at the door." Dynamo said, without anger, sad, surprise or anything that would normally function as responses to having the wall next to you blowing up and your enemy capturing you. "If there WERE any traps. Got you there." X held his surprise in.

"Correct." Vile also joined in. "Watching you through our small spy cameras were interesting. In fact, we arranged for your safe passage. Notice how the soldiers didn't chase after you, rather: stand ground and fire. You did notice that, right?"

"We don't care right now. We have you." Zero pressed Vile up against the wall. "Now then. Time for some questions. First question," X also followed suit with Dynamo. "Where do we find Sigma?"

Dynamo answered first. "Heh. That should be something we could ask you."

Axl pointed one gun at each Maverick. "What the hell does that mean?"

"Sigma only shows his face via screen." Vile took over. "He wants to keep his location a secret…for now. He doesn't want people knowing his location so you wouldn't beat it out of him. And look, you're doing it right now. And now you know."

"Let me guess." Dynamo continued. "The next question is, why are we currently planning to attack Hunter HQ?"

"Wait…what…" X asked.

"And the answer is…YES! YES WE ARE!"

_KEYWARD CONFIRMED. ACTIVATING DEFENSE SYSTEM._

Dynamo and Vile pressed a button on their waist. Electric charges hit X and Zero, and they vanished in a cloud of smoke. Axl fired widely into the smoke.

"Where did they go…" Axl asked.

"LOOK!" Zero pointed.

The hangar was filled with defense bots. Giant machines that resembled a complete D-1000 (Intro boss in X6) were deployed in time of emergency to fight off intruders. They did have advance measures, and could easily take down a Class-A Hunter.

And now, it had been infected by the Legion Virus.

_WE ARE LEGION. FOR WE ARE MANY. _

The Infected Defense Bot opened fire with all four of the laser turrets. All three Hunters easily dodged, and returned fire. Zero switched to his buster, despite it being less effective than the others. The Bot attempted to bash right into Axl, who just flew above it and fire off more explosive shots. Zero switched back to the Z-Saber, and performed Rasetsusen on the head. Several plates of metal fell off.

The Bot really tried to fight back. Rank Triple A Hunters was too much for it. Single A ranks, as I mentioned before, could easy fall to this monstrous weapon. Double A, however, were levels above, and a challenge it would be. But a Double A Hunter were short in stock. So a Triple A Hunter could easily destroy one in mere minutes. And there was only three Triple A Hunters ever. And the Defense Bots never trained with the those three.

Zero chopped off the right arm and Axl shot off all of the turrets. Now the Bot could only do was ram. But it couldn't get off even one. X ran forward, charging. A single charge shot blew off the head, ending the battle rather quickly.

Too quickly.

Vile and Dynamo had ran behind the Hunters using the smokescreen. They stood there waiting. Soldiers quietly marched in, carrying several chests. The soldiers quickly outfitted themselves in Hunter medic outfits and Class B Hunter outfits. Vile and Dynamo were handed holo-outfits of Class A Hunters. Recently dead Class A Hunters. They didn't activate it, just yet.

"Sir, all of the other Hunters have left the area. The path is clear." One of the soldiers said.

"Good. Citizens?"

"They all left. Casualties are minimum. Lord Sigma may not be happy."

"He will be. The information back at Hunter HQ will be more valuable than a few worthless human lives." Dynamos said. He withdrew from the chest three stun bombs. He juggled them.

"…looks like the battle is near its end." Vile noticed, as a the missing arm fell to the side of the group. Dynamo walked quietly up to the back of the Hunters and threw the bombs. The bombs landed on the backs of each Hunter and sent a higher voltage of electrical charges through each. They fell like stones. One soldier for each Hunter grabbed them all, and placed them in a portable resting pods.

Dynamo laughed. Vile had stopped laughing years ago. The soldiers didn't laugh.

"Let's move." Vile said. Four disguised Mavericks picked up one pod and left.

"Well, easier than done and said. I honestly can't believe our luck." Vile said.

"I agree! We got rid of the three and only threats to us! Now it's free reign of the entire world! I mean, who's going to stop us? The Navigators?"

"Don't jinx us. Those three have been trained by the Hunters. We'll have to take them down silently." Some red circular object glinted in Vile's helmet. Dynamos immediately went quiet. Vile did have a face, but only rumors served as evidence. But if you saw a red 'eye', run. Vile has spent time upgrading every weapon he had. He had become a actual weapon.

* * *

_And so…we end today. We'll come back at a later time to continue our story. _

_The war continued to ravage the land…

* * *

_

_I'm kinda proud of this. My writing style goes on and off at times, there are parts I really like, and parts, if I could, I wanted to change. Continuity is a important thing to me. It makes authors look silly for not knowing how their own story works. And I do have a story all ready worked out. I've said this before, but I really do have a plan on how my stories end._

_So…my first Megaman story! I plan on continuing this for a long time. I also had been planning this for a long time._

_Confession time. As a out-of-control-austisic kid, I created two things. Original NetNavis, and plans for RPGs. Really. I created locations, bosses, bosses hp, weapons, and even at one point, names for the music! I crafted stories out of nothing. I'm good._

_But still. Review my story with a open mind. You can flame if you want. Give me suggestions._

_Over and out. _


	2. Reasons For War, Reasons For Peace

_I thought this story would get noticed. I had a expectation for this story. It…failed!_

_I honestly thought that a story in the MegaMan with the character filter set to 'X' and 'Zero' would get some views. It just seems like my stories don't get anyone at all. And the worst thing? I'VE NO IDEA IF I'M DOING A GOOD JOB OR NOT. My life sucks._

_Yeah, I'm trying to gain some sympathy and attention. But…well….yeah, I have no way to justify that._

_Still, if you exist, please view._

_

* * *

_

"X! Come in! X! Do you read?" Alia shouted into her earpiece.

"Give it a rest." Pallette said in a monotone voice. "It's been a hour. It's clear that we're being blocked." When they lose connection to the Hunters, the computer also went out. Pallette had spent the hour researching maps. Not just the Pentagram Complex, but maps of area under control by Sigma's forces. Layer had switched to a laptop and ran all of the saved files under several queries to help the soldiers in battle. Alia had spent her time trying to reach X.

"And that's not good! Who knows what trouble they're in?" Alia's hair had gotten a bit missed up. With the computers out, the fans had stopped working, along with the electronic doors. Layer's field training was in the desert, Pallette's lab was always hot, but Alia had no real time in a hot environment. She always been in a stable temperature area.

"Alia." Layer put her laptop down while the tests were running. "Please calm down. There's no use in panicking right now. X and Zero always make it alive." She handed Alia one of her Bashou fans. "Here." Alia said a quick 'thank you' and she cooled herself down with it.

"No offense, but you haven't been around long enough to say that. Zero has died twice now. X has been in several critical states before. Yes, their rate of success is 100%, no doubt, but that percent comes at a heavy price." The fans flapped faster. Pallette stopped working and turned to Alia.

"When did you become such a pessimistic? Alia, you're the Head Navigator. You're supposed to keep us from having a meltdown." Pallette crumbled up a paper into a ball and lightly threw it at Alia. She knocked it away with the fan. She handed fan back to Layer, and tried to power on the computer. Pallette shook her head and went back to her maps.

The lights came on. Then the fans. And then the computers started up.

"All right! It's time for lunch!" Pallette shouted, and leaped out of her chair.

"You're welcome." A voice came from behind the door. It opened, and a young, long white-hair Navigator walked in.

"Servii? You fixed it?" Asked Alia.

"I had some training in engineering." She answered.

"And now you're a Navigator?" Alia asked again.

"I think that would be odd." Servii said. She sounded a bit uncomfortable.

"I know plenty of female engineers. " Layer spoke, rooting through her desk's drawers. "And they have good professional relationship with the male engineers." She went over to Servii and showed her a photo. A typical Christmas Party photo, shot in the boiler room. Layer looked drunk, along with six male and four female dirty engineers; all of them wearing party hats.

"Wait! You went to the Christmas Party in the basement?" Pallette grabbed the photo out of Layer's hands. "But…but but…what about my party? Ahh! Layer!" Layer blushed a bit, but got the photo back and went back to work. Pallette huffed, but put aside revenge for later.

"Don't try to convince me. I enjoy being a Navigator. And I enjoy working with you." Servii smiled. Servii rarely smiled, but it wasn't a emotional thing, just a thing of hers. She only smiled while around her Navigator trainers. She wasn't found of X, Zero, or Axl, for some reason. "But as long as you don't ask me to get you donuts."

"We don't eat donuts." All three Navigators said unanimously.

"Great!" Servii smile stayed.

"How bad was the damage?" Asked Alia.

"Not that bad. A simple low-power pulse fired from a space satellite. Generally a nuisance to us, we upgraded our systems to protect against long-term damage long ago. Though it will take some time to get up to full power." Servii went over to a panel on the wall and fiddled around with some controls. "I just rerouted a bit more power to this room for now."

"Thanks again, Servii. Can I ask you to stay and help recover any lost data?" Alia asked.

"I'm sorry, but Signas and the Council has personally asked me to help with the library recovering. I actually came here for the tools. Can I borrow them for a bit? I promise to return them." Pallette nodded and handed her the tool box. Servii bowed and accepted it.

"The library is down? I thought that it had its own power." Layer asked.

"Yes. Whoever attacked us went straight to all of the power sources. The sabotage wasn't strong enough for any permanent damage. The engineers are working as hard as they can, but nearly all of them are in the city setting up emergency shelters with the others."

"Sigma is getting more and more dangerous by the day." Alia stated. "By tomorrow, he'll be throwing nuclear bombs."

"I personally think the better term is insane." Pallette brought up. "When he starts to throw the bombs, they will land everywhere. And I do mean everywhere."

"I agree." Servii went to the door, but stopped and turned around.

"Oh. By the way. The library work is a need-to-know. The files are strictly forbidden. Please don't go around and tell people that. We may not meet each other again if you did."

Alia nodded and said, "Okay, Servii…"

"EMERGENCY! PLEASE CLEAR THE HALL! INFECTED HUNTERS ARE COMING THROUGH!"

Servii dodged back into the room as a medical team carrying three pods stormed down the hall. Alia, Layer, and Pallette didn't have a chance to see what's in the pods, but they knew who was inside. They waited until the medics cleared the hall before they followed behind. They caught up with them at a corner and managed to force past medics to get near the pods.

"X! My god! What happened?" Alia got up to the pod and looked inside. X looked okay, but his face was in pain.

"He got infected by the Legion Virus." One of the head hunters said. "Don't worry, the immunity is helping, so he's needs a little recovery time and a small operation." The hunter placed a hand on Alia's shoulder. "Don't worry. Your boyfriend is fine." Alia threw off the hand.

"He's not my boyfriend! And how did the virus get into their systems?" The second head hunter walked up.

"The virus had been directly injected into them. A new weapon and all."

"A new weapon?" Layer asked. She left Zero's side and walked up to the hunter. "I never heard of a such of a weapon." The hunter immediately answered."We discovered it inside of the complex."

"Then where is it?" Asked Layer. "I need to research it." The first hunter tapped the second hunter's shoulder. The second hunter went quiet while the first hunter talked. "Sorry. We didn't have a chance to recover it. We were attacked, and the only weapon we could find was destroyed. Once again, sorry, but we need to get the three to the Emergency Room." The two ran off to catch up with the pods. Three medics stayed behind and were acting…weird.

"Is something wrong?" Pallette asked. The medics were dancing.

Yep. Dancing.

"Have they been infected?" Asked Layer.

"I've…never…seen a infected like this before." Pallette answered. (Not really.) "Could it be they react differently to the virus?"

"No." Alia walked near one of the dancing robots. "They're malfunctioning. A short circuit connecting the brain to the limbs, causing spasms. The war has bought up a rise of this condition. You know, stress and all." She tapped one on the head. It rolled.

"Yikes! I don't think this guy just has a malfunction." Pallette said, after jumping back in surprise. The other heads rolled also. The medics, despite their heads dangling on a thread, started to walk forward. The Navigators stepped back.

"Ermm…Alia? I think you should step back." Layer said, reaching for her rapier. Pallette, though surprised, withdrew her pistol from her holster. Alia didn't go for her weapon, but still stepped back. The medics shambled near them, almost like a zombie. Alia recalled some training she had years ago, right around she first met X. He taught her the methods on how to negotiate with Mavericks or the infected.

"Listen to the sound of my voice. Can you hear me?" She asked.

"Psst! Alia? Not the best idea right now!" Pallette said under her breath.

"Draw your weapon." Layer said. Rather coldly, too. Her rapier was pointed right out to the medics.

"Please. If you can talk, then let's talk. It doesn't need to end in violence."

"Alia! What are you doing?"

"Draw your weapon."

"Please. I just want to talk to you peacefully."

"Alia!

"Draw your weapon!"

Alia bit her lip, and her left hand became the Alia Buster. She charged up. "_Where is everybody?"_ Thought Alia. Usually the base was swamped with different faces every day. But when the medics came in, people seemed to clear out.

Layer got the first move. She went for a simple warning slice, to tear through the clothes. The clothes did rip, but the sword took off the entire shirt. Layer threw it down. The shirt was stained with oil. The medics continued to walk forward. Layer swiped again, several times. More clothes, all oil stained, fell off. Layer stepped back.

"Soldiers?" She shouted. The soldier's heads retracted up, and the oil leaks sealed. They reached for their stun batons, but not their guns. They may have recovered from their swinging heads and leaks, but the glitches in their brains still restricted their movement.

One gained a sudden burst of speed and swung. Layer blocked, allowing Pallette to get a head shot. This didn't kill it, but it just skidded back. Pallette fired more five shots, two in the brain, one in the chest, and two in the right arm. It continued to stand. Alia unleashed the charge shot, and it fell down. It stirred, as if tried to move. Layer finished it off with a stab downwards.

The other two, who fell into 'la la' land while their comrade got butchered, went forward with their clubs swinging. Layer charged one, giving Alia and Pallette the last one. Layer quickly blocked all of the pointless swings and kicked the club out of the hand. She retracted her foot in pain, as a small shock entered her leg. The soldier, who couldn't process that he lost his baton, switched to using his blaster rifle as a club. Regardless of size, he wielded it with one hand. Layer received a blow to the head when her block turned against her.

The last soldier head jerked, and he regained some control. He grabbed his gun and started to fire, but at random intervals. Pallette's hair, the floating ones, actually served as a multi-purpose tool. She blocked the fire (While being pushed back.) and continued to fire off as many shot as she could. The soldier, despite being riddled with energy bullets, fired a shot that pierced Alia's shoulder, who's charge shot misfired. She hit the wall and fired several buster shots. They had more effect than Pallette, but the enemy still stood.

Layer's enemy had relearned how to use his gun. This actually made things easier, as Layer could actually reflect the shots. So now the hall got filled with bouncing enemy fire. Layer stepped back, along with Alia and Pallette. The enemy took the full blunt, with one falling dead. The last one lost his arm, and the death blow was dealt by a charge shot from Alia. The hallway was filled with holes, burn marks, body parts, bodies and other debris.

Layer rested on the wall. She had been out of training for a while, so fighting against three soldiers from Sigma took a lot of her. If she continued to train with Zero, she could handle a entire a squad. But Zero had been too busy with the war to train, yet alone see to each other. Not of course he had a reason to see her.

Oh great. She was going on about Zero again. A grown woman having a childhood crush. She held back her blush. This was no time for that. Alia tapped her shoulder, and she ran off with Pallette. Layer took a quick break, and followed them back to the Navigator Room. Servii was still there, as if stunned.

"What happened?" She asked.

"Sigma happened. His forces have snuck in." Alia stormed over to her computer and quickly bought up cameras to the medical offices. The soldiers stripped off the uniforms, and the two hunters hit a button on their belts. Vile and Dynamo appeared in their places. Vile quickly sent out three soldiers in different directions. Three stayed behind to follow both Dynamo and Vile in another direction.

"They're headed to the library." Servii said. Her eyes went wide. She accessed a computer and tried to access the defenses, but no response came. "They disabled the turrets. The library is completely open to them. Even the forbidden files."

"…We need to stop them." Alia said. She went over to the emergency weapon console and started to empower her weapons and her armor. Navigators aren't made to fight, but they're designed with self-defense mechanics. The Council decided, about three months into the war, to give the Navigators a offensive option. The other three Navigators got both confused and scared.

"By ourselves?" Asked Pallette.

"Everyone else is gone." Alia said, while her buster got charged with new energy. "We may not be the best people for the job, but if Sigma gets those files that Signas deem forbidden, the war is over." The weapon and armor upgrade finished. Alia went back to her computer and quickly typed in a command, bringing up a map with several markers. She turned back to Layer and Pallette, who were just standing there. "Well?" She asked.

"What?" They both asked.

"Are you coming?"

"No!" They both said. Alia held up one finger.

She asked, "Weren't you just listening? We're the only ones who can stop this."

Pallette got to talk first. "But X and the others are waiting for us! Let's get them up!"

Alia now held up three fingers. "One. In order to get to X, we need to get through at least three waves of soldiers." She pointed to her map. She traced the shortest route from the Navigator Room to the Medical Office, and her finger passed through three groups of three red dots. "Two. Those capsules are designed to combat the virus. Only a medical officer can open them." She bought up the capsule's information. "And the only medical officers in the building are those carrying guns. And the real ones won't be back in a hour. Third. If we can get to AND open the capsules, then they would be too drowsy to move for a another hour. We don't have time to wait. I suggest we move."

Layer, the one who usually followed the path of least resistance, took a deep breath and went to the console to get the needed boost. Pallette gawked. "Layer!"

"Pallette, she's right. The truth may be painful, but we're the last line of defense here. If you're scared…" Pallette's mood quickly shifted.

" 'Cuse me? Excuse me? Me? A coward? Yellow-bodied? No way! Move!" She pushed Layer out of the way and started her own power-up. Servii, who stood in silence, finally spoke.

"I agree that the files need to be protected, but who's going to protect you? The soldiers can move at anytime!"

Alia sighed. "And you gals call me a pessimistic. Well, Servii, we do need a Navigator. And seeing of course that we are the only ones who fight here, it looks like you will have to watch our backs." Servii got taken back. "Are you up to it, Rookie?" Servii looked back and forth; from the computer and Alia to the door. She made the right decision and went to the computer and activated the Navigator Program.

"Thanks. If we survive, I'll buy you whatever you want. Anything." Alia said with a voice of a leader. "All right. This isn't a stealth mission, so don't lead us away from the soldiers. We need to kill all of them. If we leave one alive, it could be disastrous. As confirmed, there are a total of eighteen soldiers. Six groups. Once we take them down, then we go after Vile and Dynamo. The files will take time to download, so let's focus on thinning the forces before we go after the leaders."

"Is that clear?" She yelled.

"YES, MA'AM!" All three saluted.

"MOVE OUT! THERE'S NO TIME TO LOSE!" Alia threw her arm around back to the door and all three ran off to handle the soldiers.

* * *

The library (The official name is the Source Collective Library.) is, without a doubt, the biggest information storage in the entire world. The Hunters were proud of it, and the library expanded every day, even during the war. Every single letter of every single paper ever written was forever filed away and permanently preserved. Electronic locks were the seals, and only certified Hunters above the rank of A could open.

And the Rank A Hunters could only open only 10% percent of the files. 30% were open to Rank AA. Rank AAA? Only 60%. The remaining 40% was only open to the Council. Signas had access to 75% of all of the files.

So Dynamo and Vile weren't having a fun time.

"Geez. How long have we been here?" Asked Dynamo.

"Only a hour. Why? You have a date? You'll turn into a pumpkin if you don't get home by midnight?" Vile retorted.

"No…if this takes too long, then we have to deal with a whole lot of Hunters. Personally…"

"Shut up. Why do you think I ordered everyone to split up? We're fine, ya chickenshit."

"I meant X, Zero, and that new punk, Axl. If they get out…"

"Then we'll have to deal with a bunch of drowsy hunters. If they get out, IF being a keyword, then we have a one hour window to get the rest of files. And besides, again, any Class A or higher class Hunter are out of the country. I think I can handle a couple of medics and scientists, but hey, if you're scared, you can leave."

Dynamo laughed. "Of course not! However, you should see this." He gracefully bowed, leading to a computer screen. Vile shoved him out the way and looked on the monitor. Four security cameras showed the first floor's north, south, east, and west corridors. Specifically, the locations where Vile had sent his men. They weren't there anymore. Instead, three different people were making a path to the library. Dynamo held back his laughter as Vile quietly smashed the computer. He didn't say anything. The three remaining soldiers manning the computer downloading the files walked up to their commander. Vile punched one to the ground. The soldier just got up and rejoined the group.

"You three." Vile started to give orders. He remained calm. "I'm giving the order to use the deadliest weapons you have to eliminate the enemy. As you can tell, they just destroyed 7/8 of our finest soldiers. They're aren't to be underestimated. I don't care how you do it, as long as we get the information, then you can kill all you want! Is that clear?"

"Sir, yes sir!" All three said in a electronic voice at the same time. They marched over to one of the chests and pulled out several parts to a much larger gun. Vile sat down, fuming. Dynamo flicked a switch near him, and a monitor facing Vile showed re-plays of the Navigators going through the soldiers. Vile shot up, interested in how his personally trained men got easily butchered. "Here's my favorite. Alia. Her buster may not have the punch that X's does, but these guys aren't me or you." Dynamo didn't laugh, but it was obvious that he was enjoying Vile's reactions. Vile's fists balled up when a charge shot burst through a chest of a soldier. Alia then round-housed kicked the standing dead robot into another who was going to shoot Pallette.

"And the second contender is Miss Layer. Zero's strongest fangirl." Dynamo said in a way to anger Vile. But in a way to direct the anger at the Navigators, not himself. He continued. "Though fangirl might be a understatement. She can kick as much ass as Zero can. Oh, look!" He pointed back to the screen. Layer cut down a soldier. The screen cut, and showed Layer killing another soldier. "Ooh! Decapitation. Admittedly awesome." Vile didn't agree.

"And lastly, Pallette. The youngest? Yeah. The weakest? Yeah. The most annoying of them all? No doubt there. But she's better than your guys in the realm of weaponry. Take a look…" The screen turned to Pallette as she switched to a flamethrower and lit three people on fire. She returned back to her regular pistol and shot all three in the leg, leaving them to burn and die. She kicked them for good measure. "Brutal. The young ones are always the most brutal ones." Vile was at bursting point. Dynamos set up his final attack.

The monitor split into four screens, showing every single death of every single soldier over and over again for Vile's disgust and Dynamo's enjoyment. Alia, Layer, and Pallette. Navigators. Operators. Non-Combative Reploids. Killing Vile's special trained soldiers. The ones he spent twelve hours one day teaching them the thousand ways to use a single weapon to kill anyone.

And that weapon is a stick.

Vile this time didn't break the computer. But he gently pushed Dynamo out of the way and typed in a command to access a fifth camera.

"Ah. Here's something we could use." Dynamo looked over and his smile grew even larger.

"I'll go. Make sure our guests are well accommodated." Dynamo left in the back door.

Vile sat back. The thought of torture relaxed him.

* * *

The big gun that the last three soldiers built was a ten foot bazooka called 'PLR-05' (Pulse Laser Rocket). Once a prototype designed by the world's greatest weaponsmith, the war robbed him of the plans. Completed and remolded by the Mavericks, the weapon had tore through several defense lines. Thankfully the weaponsmith made a shield to counter the weapon, and the weapon nearly faded away. This one was the last one created and still in use.

All three were needed to work the weapon. One to aim the gun in the front. One to lock and load the gun in the middle. One to pull the trigger in the back.

"Target #3 is coming forward." The one in the front said. Pallette couldn't see them behind the door.

"The gun is ready to fire." The second in the middle said. Pallette got closer, and slowed down to open the door.

"Firing." The third in the back said. The weapon vaporized the door and hit Pallette.

Or rather Pallette's hologram. The hologram device took the full blunt of the attack. The real Pallette, along with Alia, destroyed the weapon and the soldiers. Layer ran forward into the library. When Alia and Pallette rejoined her, she had her sword at Vile's neck. He remained in his chair, regardless that the weapon could easily kill him like a buzzsaw through paper.

"Welcome to the library. A area who's files are always black and white. Nothing marked out. This room is designed like that. Black and white. Yin…and Yang. The files can be either good or evil." Vile said without a single hint of a negative emotion.

"Hello Vile." Alia said, strong. "What's with the talk? We know about this place. Everyone in the base does."

"But I didn't. This is new, remember? I was kinda dead when this wonderful place was founded." Vile got up and walked over to a computer, Layer following him the entire way. He didn't object. Vile tapped in something, and a file appeared. He stepped to the side, and with his hands, lead Alia to the computer. She kept her back opposite to him as she opened the file. She was taken by surprise by the file, but she kept her guard up.

"I never seen this before. Did you upload it?" She asked.

"A gift." The screen showed something called 'DeathArcana'. The main picture showed a city that looked like a giant robot, and smaller robots that unnerved Alia. They only had one red eye that glinted in the photo, and had a stitch smile. This reminded her of something.

"I heard about this. But the name is different."

"Yes. Reaverbots. That's a name you given. But now, Sigma's top researchers have discovered their origins. The file will take time to decrypt, but I explain the first paragraph. The Arcana race was, was being the keyword, a underground race that had great minds that exceeded the time they existed in. The 'Reaverbots' were once friendly, and served as protectors, and only attacked those who attacked them."

"So the ruins that the diggers explored thousands of years ago were actually former Arcana cities?" Asked Pallette.

"Correct." Vile walked back to his seat and sat down. "They did have some connections to the aboveground, but rare and far apart. They really didn't like us who basked in the sun. In fact, the reason why they aren't around anymore is because they cured all of their diseases, but none of ours. And they left behind a legacy of machines, robots…and several other things."

"Other things?" Asked Alia. She silently charged the blaster. The silent treatment took longer.

"…they were a race united for one cause. One mission. They never fought any wars. Because they hate war. They hate filth. They hate…hate. They wanted to create a world where no one suffered. The project they left behind still remains underground, and all across the world. The machines, over the years, became brutal. Hence, the name DeathArcana."

"Thanks for the exposition." Alia's buster nearly reached full charge. "What's the point?"

"You should know what the main mission was. It's something that Sigma is repeating."

"WHAT."

Vile laughed. But he didn't ignore Layer. He knocked her aside with his cannon, and shot Alia in the foot, stopping the charge. Pallette covered herself with her hair. Vile wagged his finger.

"They wanted to replace the entire solar system. With their own planets, cities, government, people. A perfect life."

Alia looked up in pain. The robotic looking city made sense. Did that mean that the underground ruins were replacements for the cities above?

"Hey, Dynamo, you're coming back, aren't you?" Asked Vile, without moving his head.

"Yep. And I bought my own gift." Dynamo kicked the door off its hinges, hitting Pallette in the head. Layer, being the one least damage looked up.

Servii. Dynamo held her like a bag, with rope being the handle. He gently put her down and walked to the computer stealing the information and looked at it. He threw up his arms and went back to Vile. He whispered something in the ear. Vile sighed, and went over to one of the chests in the room. He pulled out a medical kit and placed it on the table and opened it. He withdrew a syringe and a darkened vial.

"Vile…hurt Servii, and I WILL keep you alive…but in pain you want to die from." Layer threatened.

"Guessed I should have shot you too. But now it's a waste of ammo." Vile took the syringe and dived the needle into the wax top and pulled the plunge up, extracting some dark brown liquid. "We have time to burn, so let's spend it in the best way possible. Why don't you tell us what you personally know?" Vile put the vial back into the case and put the case back in the case. He crossed his arms, holding the syringe in his left hand.

"What can we possibly know that the library doesn't?" Alia asked. Dynamo bended down and lightly slapped Alia, as like a joke. "Well for starters, what things did you learn today? I mean, it's only been about three hours since the attack on the city. That's not much time to enter the city. So tell me and my friend. Anything interested turned up?"

"Go to hell." Alia spat on Dynamo's face. He got up and wiped it off. Vile handed him the syringe. Dynamo walked over to Servii's body.

"Okay, fine. So let's switch roles. What do you think is in the vial?"

"…The Legion Virus..." Said Alia.

"Correct. Your friend may not be made for combat, but still, the effect would be fun to watch." He strolled around . "…You haven't seen anyone turn, have you?"

"No, but I don't want to."

"Well then." Dynamo gave the syringe back to Vile. "Let's talk."

"Let's not." A voice said.

"Who…" Asked Dynamo, right before he got knocked back by a powerful gust of wind. Vile's heavier body resisted the wind, but he couldn't move. The wind reached the bodies of Alia, Layer, Pallette, but instead of being moved back, their bodies got recharged. The energy was fantastic; the three jumped up back to their feet. They felt new and powerful, like a Hunter.

"Servii?" Asked Pallette. Alia turned to see her friend floating three feet above the ground. A white aura surrounded her, and her eyes had gone completely white. Vile and Dynamo attempted to get up, but Servii bought up her arms, and the two got sent up by a small tornado.

"Servii! What's going on?" Asked Pallette again.

"I'm the Angel Unit." Servii said. Her voice lost the human touch, and became a voice that almost seems angelic to the others. Alia felt her heart flutter. "I must protect….I must protect….I…must…protect…" The aura faded away, and Servii fell to the ground, with Layer catching her. Servii's eyes returned to normal. She seemed to be unaware about the whole thing.

"Huh? What?" She said, rightfully confused. "I'm in…the library? How do I get here? Is everything okay? Are those two dead?"

"Woah, woah." Layer said, putting a hand on Servii's shoulder. "It's okay. Everything's fine. The mission is completed. We're safe." Pallette then kicked Vile's computer, leaving a huge hole in the screen. "And thanks to you."

"Me? What did I do?"

"You don't know?" Alia said. She got to work on unlocking the DeathArcana files. It was going to take a long time, even the computer didn't know how long. So far, the part that Vile described had were the only thing that was available. And that's just the summary of the entire document. Vile didn't into details.

"No. Are you sure that I did this?" She pointed to Dynamo, currently being cuffed by Pallette.

"You can view the camera files." Alia went over to a different window and showed the file. It showed the last five minutes of the events that transpired in the library. Alia and the others being taken down by Vile and Dynamo. Servii being threatened with the Legion Virus. Servii becoming a 'angel.' And recently. Servii couldn't really take it all in. Her eyes showed it all.

"I…I…I d-d-don't understand. What happened to me?" She asked.

"You don't know? Servii, where do you come from?" Alia got closer.

"I don't...AAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"

Vile was right behind her, and the syringe he played with now laid in Servii's shoulder. The plunger went down on its own. Pallette bought him down to the ground, but the deed is done.

Servii had been infected.

"And now, ladies. You get to see the live show." Dynamo said, rolling away from Pallette's foot. Servii went into spasms, hitting against the wall. Alia attempted to restrain her, but got back-slapped by Servii. Pallette switched to a net launcher and fired, but Servii just ripped it apart. Layer didn't attack, but held her sword close, in case.

While the three tried to help their friend, Dynamo and Vile broke free of their bonds. (They played along.) The two quietly walked past the commotion to their computer. Dynamo ejected the disk while Vile bought out a second computer. They entered the disk and checked to what they got.

"63%? Not bad." Dynamo said.

"Not passing, but at least we got something of use to Sigma." Vile said while bringing up a program on the computer.

"Scanning the girl?" Asked Dynamo.

"If the virus gains control of her, then Sigma may not mind the missing thirty-seven percent. But first, what is she?" The scan began. Layer looked back at the two. Dynamo threw his saber at her, but it didn't hit; as that was the point. Layer attempts to get close never worked against Dynamo's flying saber, as it

now followed her.

"How's she doing?" Asked Vile.

"She just bitch-slapped Alia. And I wanted her to get Pallette." Dynamo said with a chuckle.

"Well, it would nice to see that happened to Zero. He deserves it."

"Well, talk about issues." Dynamo sat down to watch the scan. Layer tried to jump and slash him ended with her being knocked back by the saber.

"All right." Vile said, as the screen finished the scan. "Let's see what she is…oh?"

Vile sounded surprised, a new thing. Dynamo got interested and looked.

"Woah. That's different….she's a Navigator?"

"No…" Vile scrolled down. "She's a Storage Unit. But I can't…"

_SSSHHHHEEEEERRRRRRRRIIIIIIIII_

Everyone in the room held their ears in pain as Servii let loose a piercing scream. Her eyes faded to white, but the aura didn't show nor did she float. Her face became contorted, and old. She stopped screaming. Something beeped on Vile's computer.

"I don't like the sound of that." Said Dynamo.

"We all should. The virus is reacting differently to her. She's out of control." Vile said while stepping back.

Servii's head rolled four times. In a way that snapped her neck. The only reason the head stopped rolling is because she stopped it. Pallette held her breath.

"Are…are are…you…aaaa…enemy?" She asked.

"Do….do….do…youyouyouyou….want want…to…kill…me?"

"Servii, no!" Alia said. Pallette and Layer held their weapons ready. Like before, Alia tried to negotiate. "Listen to my voice. We don't want to hurt you. And you don't want to hurt us."

"YOU. WANT. TO. HURT. ME. DON'T. LIE." Servii's voice turned hostile.

"Please! Servii!" Alia pleaded again.

"MY. NAME. ISN'T. SERVII. I. HAVE. NO. NAME. NO. NUMBER."

Servii rose up a foot. "ELIMATITION MODE ACTIVATED. ALL FRIENDLY UNITS LEAVE THE AREA. THIS IS THE ONLY WARNING." Two rifts appeared over her shoulders, and two green orbs came forth.

"Those orbs! I recognize those!" Pallette said. "Those used to be placed inside statues to serve as a defense to robbers."

As if on cue, two white lasers fired from the orbs, and struck both Alia and Layer. They got hit hard, but they continued to stand. The energy from Servii had given them a boost that may keep them alive, if Servii didn't pull out anymore secret weapons.

Layer recovered first. She considered that a plan of non-resistance won't work, and the best option is to subdue her. Without Alia or Pallette, she moved forward and slashed once, across the chest. Servii held her chest in pain, and fired back. Layer stepped back and flipped backwards to avoid the lasers. She came back with two strikes, the chest and the arm.

"Layer! Stop, that's Servii you're attacking!" Alia shouted.

"I'm just trying to knock her out! I could use a little help!" Layer shouted as she blocked several lasers. She switched to her fans and performed Zekkyōdan. She ran forward with her regular sword, absorbing the lasers. It helped recovered the damage from the first attack. Three slashes; one arm, two chest.

"Layer! We can cure her! We don't know what sort of damage we could do if we tried to fight her!" Alia yelled.

"I thought you wanted to stop them. Servii needs to be stopped before she helps them!"

"I didn't mean that!"

Pallette just stood there, stunned.

The orbs floated over Layer and a thick laser beam tore down, catching Layer in between two lasers. Servii's left arm became a white thorn and she slowly approached Layer.

"Dammit, Layer!" Pallette yelled, opening fire on the orbs. It took several shots, but the orbs shattered.

"Sorry, Alia, but right now, Servii is out for blood. I rather lose one friend than two." Pallette joined Layer's side. "We're just trying to stop her, right?" She asked.

"Correct." Servii flew forward, with both arms now thorns. She spun around, nicking both. Pallette countered by shooting both arms and Layer kicked her. Servii hit the wall, and slid down. She didn't move. Pallette ran up to her and checked the vital signs. She was alive, but her signs were slowing. She nodded at Alia. Alia let out a huge sigh of relief.

That got revoked when two thick lasers hit her, propelling her forward. Servii knocked Pallette to the side and went straight to Layer.

Alia never faced or ever dealt with such pain before. Whatever Servii did for her before helped her survive, but she now she started to fall into the darkness.

Her sight blurred darker and darker, but she still could see her friends. Layer attempted to block Servii's arm, but a laser to the back stopped her. Pallette fired wildly at the orbs, but Servii chopped her down. Alia tried to move her arm, her hand, even a finger. All failed her. Servii got closer to her. The orbs went silent, and one thorn arm stayed . Alia tried to speak, but even her tongue couldn't help her. Her sight reached a slit.

Servii didn't say anything. She arm went back, and she stabbed forward.

But it didn't reach her. She shot first.

Alia's buster fired a single shot, and it went through the stomach of Servii. Her eyes went dark. The sound of shattering glass could be heard behind Alia; the orbs had fallen. Servii fell to ground on her back, with one arm still a thorn. Her face was no longer the friendly girl. She didn't bleed, her death came too soon.

A new found strength entered Alia and she got up to go to Servii. She couldn't face it, or understand it. Why did she fire her buster? She had no reason. Servii was a friend. Not an enemy. Layer and Pallette were trying to stop her, and she stood back and killed her! She had been following X's ideas the entire time, try to negotiate first and then resort to violence. But that failed!

And now, the body of her friend laid in her hands. Tears burned in her eyes and fell to the cold floor. Servii no longer looked like her friend. Her death spited Alia, as if to say that this was her fault. Looking back, it was. SHE left Servii alone in the Navigator Room. SHE distracted Servii so Vile could infect her. SHE killed Servii.

_Oh, Servii. It's my fault. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…_

"Move." Vile kicked Alia in the chest. She dropped Servii and hit the wall. Dynamo walked over and picked up the corpse. "Now, excuse us. We're done here."

"Wait…" Alia tried to get up, but Vile's foot came down hard on her head.

"Wait for what? You?" Vile's foot pressed down harder. "While should I waste even more time with you? You destroyed my squad. You destroyed my equipment. Normally, I would like to watch your eyes burst out of their sockets and your brain to drip out…" The pressure became unbearable. "…But I'm under a tight schedule. I will make a appointment for you, and your friends later. Personally, the end of the world is a much more fun sight to see." His foot retracted, and Alia fell on her face.

Her sight started to fade, but it wasn't something she wanted to see. Vile putting electromagnetic bombs on the computers and Dynamo packing up, but wrapped up Servii in a sheet. A short timer was set, and Vile grabbed the sheet. He and Dynamo shared a conformed look and they headed to the back door.

"No…Servii…" Alia's last words for the time being.

"Don't worry." Dynamo said. "We'll bury her as a hero. Soon…"

"_**What a waste!" **_

Alia's sight went away as soon as the new voice came on. She listened to anything new, but the voice didn't say anything else, neither did Vile or Dynamo. The last sound she heard sounded like…someone being hit hard.

Alia drifted into a dreamless slumber.

* * *

"Alia? Can you see me?" A familiar voice echoed into Alia's brain. She tried to speak. She was too weak to talk, or even wiggle a finger. Her thoughts were clouds.

"Can you hear me?" X. The voice is X. The medic team had came back and freed the Hunters. Good.

"Alia. Can you move?" She tried. At this point, her mind became a little more clearer, and she came to realize that she was in a healing capsule. Some power came back, and she tapped a finger. X could be heard letting out a sigh of relief.

"You're okay! Thank god!" X's voice sounded happy. Alia expected him to scold her for taking brute action. More energy poured into her. She tried to speak. She formed words, but not sentences. Her eyelids became lighter. Cracking open, X's helmetless face came into view. He may just had been in a warzone, but being stuck in a capsule cleaned him up.

"If it's too hard to talk, don't. You, Layer and Pallette just mowed down twenty four of Sigma's soldiers. You need rest."

"Ser…vi…"

"The sever is fine."

"No…Servii…"

"Hold on." X turned around. "Has anyone seen Servii?"

A collection of 'No's later, and X turned back. "What's wrong?" Asked X.

"…Taken…please. I need out." Alia opened the capsule from the inside. She passed X and headed to the door, but her feet flailed. X grabbed her. "You need rest." Said X.

"No! Vile and Dynamo…"

"…are in custody. We found them unconscious in the same room. They had been shut down by a unknown force." He showed her a cyber file. The photo of Vile and Dynamo's bodies on the floor of the library, minus two things.

"Where's their case?"

"Case?"

"They downloaded the library! They had a computer in that case!"

"All right. Once me, Zero, Axl are cleared, we'll look for it."

"And Servii."

"Servii? She was kidnapped?"

"…yes. Someone came in. I didn't see who, but there was someone! I need to get Servii back!"

"Alia! Calm down! Do I need to restrain you?" X grabbed her shoulders. "We'll look for both the case and Servii. We just need to be cleared by the medics first."

"Screw that!" Alia pushed him off and entered into a capsule the override code, clearing her for duty. Her weapons re-activated. X stood in her way. She tried to walk around him, but he moved in the direction of her. He was adamant.

"MOVE." She said with a stern, cold voice.

"No. You need rest. Look." He grabbed a mirror from the counter and held it up to her. She looked drained. She gently pushed the mirror down.

"X…listen. Servii is my friend. I let her get kidnapped, twice. I need to save her."

"I understand. But let us…"

"No. We do this together. Me, you, Zero, Layer, Axl and Pallette."

"But you're not made for combat."

"You just admitted that we just handled twenty four Mavericks. We're in this now. Besides, a lot of good we're going to do, with the comms. out." She became adamant. X smiled.

"We…think the same. You sure that we aren't long lost twins?"

"X…"

"I'm joking. Yeah. You can help."

* * *

_End Chapter 2._


	3. The Lesson

_REACHING DESTINATION POINT IN FIVE._

Alia fidgeted in her seat. Not because the seat in the truck wasn't made for comfort, but because of the mission itself.

She looked around. X, Zero, and Layer were sitting still. Axl and Pallette were talking. They were fine. They didn't kill a friend…!

Stop. Her mind told her to stop. Don't think about Servii, you're going to go get her. Don't think about Vile or Dynamo, they're locked up. Don't think about how you killed her…

… goddamnit.

Why? She spent every moment since she woke up thinking about Servii. But she couldn't help it. She killed a friend. A friend under the effect of a curable virus. A friend that she left defenseless. A friend that had complete trust in her. A friend…that she could have saved.

And she didn't tell anyone. Only she knew.

The cameras had been disabled by the unknown kidnapper. Layer and Pallette had been knocked out before Servii's death. Dynamo and Vile were there, but they remained unconscious, and brain activity was at a low. The kidnapper might have wiped their minds. So the only people who knew were her and the kidnapper.

_Look at me. I'm losing it._ Alia's thoughts were bouncing around like liquid molecules.

Yeah, that's it! Think about science. Get over Servii and get ready for the mission.

Okay.

Equation to the Theory of Splitting Atoms.

How the human body digest food, down to the very last detail.

How Reploids' blood systems work.

How much blood did Servii lose…

…oh, come on.

Think about the mission. Focus on that. Go back to debriefing.

_Signas had come back from his meeting as soon as the word 'Vile' came to his ears. The other Hunters had managed to clean up some of the mess before he came back, but it didn't matter, the damage had been done. 13 Hunters had died in the battle. Two had died in combat, two more died for disguises, and nine had been killed in the base. He also heard about the mysterious kidnapper. Signas first sight upon arriving was two white sheets on stretchers. He tilted his hat down._

"_Lifesaver. Report." He said. Lifesaver turned around, and saluted._

"_I can't tell if this is a blessing or not. They shot to kill. Very few people got hurt; the worst injury is that one Hunter got shot in the shoulder. One hour recovery for everyone, save for Alia, Layer and Pallette." Lifesaver reported, sending one medic crew in one direction. A scavenge team came down the hall, carrying the bodies of the Sigma soldiers._

"_What? How bad? What happened to our Navigators?" _

"_They fought back. They're the ones who cleared the base of Sigma's forces. I say that is worth a promotion." Lifesaver smiled; a rare occasion. Signas held back his smile, now it wasn't the best time. He walked to the Command Room. Douglas ran up to him, holding up several files._

"_The status reports, I presume?" He asked._

"_Yes! The Hunters managed to save most of the city. Camps are set up, supply lines are open and working, power is being restored, and the people are sending their thanks. All and all, we did it." Douglas handed the mission file to Signas. He didn't open it yet, putting it under his arm for review later._

"_Good work. How are the labs?"_

"_Standing. It'll take some time, but we'll be able to develop new weapons and armor soon."_

"_All right. Thank you, and dismissed." They saluted, and Douglas ran off to help with a scavenge team. Signas opened the doors to the Command Room. X, Alia, Zero, Layer, Axl, and Pallette were waiting. They didn't say anything, or do anything. Signas quietly walked around everyone to his chair. He sat down._

"_All right. What's the situation?" He asked. Pallette typed on a keypad and a screen showing all of the information about the attack. Signas quickly skimmed it._

"_Damn. We took a beating. I'm sorry." He spoke._

"_Don't apologize." Zero sternly said. "This is Sigma's fault. It's his war."_

"_Still, we lost a chuck of our staff. The war is going to get rougher. And now we have a new enemy. Any ideas to what it may be?" Alia shifted through some papers; hands jittering. She dropped the stack. With a nervous look, she dived down to recover the papers. She spent a minute getting them back. Layer had offered to get the papers, but Alia just shoved her off._

_Signas knew that look. PTSD. Something happened to her during the attack. Alia was a tough nut; the Nightmare Virus incident proved that. Despite just coming out of a healing pod, she looked ragged, nervous, and terrified. What happened? Did it involve Servii? Instead of directly asking, he took the subtle approach._

"_Umm…sorry, sir. We have nothing on the kidnapper. The camera files have been wiped clean. I only heard his voice…"_

"_His?" Asked Signas._

"_It sounded male. Like I said, I only heard his voice before I fell asleep. So, as far as I know, this could be a trap." Alia's voice went down a notch. This confirmed that something happened to Servii. She doubted the situation. Alia went quiet. Layer went next._

"_They knew where our entire power supply was. They also have access to a satellite that can easily disable the entire system. Douglas is working on a blocker." Signas nodded. Pallette rose when Layer sat down._

"_I checked around. I founder her, all right, but Servii may be de…dea…de…." Pallette stuttered. _

"_Please continue, Miss Pallette." Signas told._

"_I can track her. According to my map…" Pallette typed, and a map grid showed, with a blue dot appearing in the top left corner. "She's currently at Grey Forest, Square A-3. Unfortunately, there is no way to enter the forest by teleporter or by vehicle." She typed again, and the teleporter information and an actual picture of the forest appeared._

"_The teleporter is down, and the forest is too thick to get through by plane or land vehicle. Parachutes would get shredded, hover planes would get tore up by the trees; the trees are called Stonewillows, so cutting them would break any blade. Even if we could get any vehicle in, the mud and/or wildlife would tear us apart." Pictures of red lizards with large teeth and frogmen with stones axes popped up. The pictures were taken from a distance; the frogmen were setting up traps, and the lizards were eating a sheet of metal._

"_Grey Forest?" Signas questioned. "I thought that place had been bombed."_

"_Well, sir, you're both correct and wrong. It was bombed, but by a chemical agent, mutating the animals there. We're not sure if it's a direct attack by Sigma, or an accident." Pallette showed on screen the photo remains of the bomb, and the chemical used. LuxLaurus. Signas knew that chemical was one of the stepping blocks for the Legion Virus. _

"_Thank you, Pallette." She bowed and sat down. "X? How do you plan we recover Servii and investigate the kidnapper?" X rose, and cleared his throat. _

"_We'll have to trek through the forest. Our bodies won't sink in the normal ground, and the quickest route to Servii goes through the least amount of the sinking mud. There's plenty of room to fight if necessary, and Servii's body hasn't moved in the past hour. This mission should be easy."_

"_Should be?" Signas asked."You have doubts?"_

"_We didn't expect Dynamos or Vile to attack. Like Alia said ,it might be a trap." Signas looked at the last paper, and his eyes went wide. Everyone in the room took notice. He looked up._

"_Hold on! It says here that 'Alia, Layer, Pallette are cleared for duty.' What duty?" He asked with a hint of anger. X answered._

"_They wanted to join in due to the nature of the mission. They feel responsible for Servii's kidnapping, and wish to join in." Signas held his anger in, but his face showed that he didn't find this amusing. _

" _The non-combat Reploids want to fight in the war?"Signas' face actually became angry, despite him being the kind of man/Reploid who only showed anger in the times where everyone else shared the same feelings._

"_Signas, I know…" Alia started to say, but Signas held his hand up._

"_Servii is your friend, I know. But Sigma isn't playing games. He will kill any of you at any moment. Sending in our three best Hunters is risky as it is. I do want Servii back on base. But if I don't plan this right, we could be screwed forever. One lost battle could end this war. Who's going to Navigate?" _

"_HEY! ALIA!"_

Alia woke up and nearly fell off her seat. Everyone was looking at her. Her ear piece roared.

"_CAN…YOU…HEAR…ME!"_

"Uh…yes! Loud and clear! Sorry, Resi!"

"_Ugh…You need more field hours."_

Resi was a Navigator currently off-duty due to inquiry by an attack on another base. She studied with Alia and had the same amount of experience, plus had been in involved with two battles and currently held ten confirmed kills. Alia had to call in a favor to get Resi to wheel over to the main base and become the Navigator for the mission.

At the main base, Resi adjusted her glasses, her way of thinking. Brushing past a stand of unusual navy-blue hair, she wheeled over to the map Pallette left out. She checked the location of Servii's marker. No movement at A-3. The truck had arrived at point C-10, a good 5 mile jog. At least everyone was calibrated. The path that Pallette chose was the safest and fastest to the destination became marked in the team's GPS.

"Did you get it?" She asked.

"_Yes."_

"_Confirmed."_

"_Thank you."_

"_Thanks."_

"_Yes, I see it."_

"_Already got it."_

"Good. You guys ready?" Resi clicked some switches; turning on all of the others computers; ready for the mission.

"_All ready."_ Alia's voice became sturdy, determined.

"Go."

The truck's back door opened, and all passengers jumped out and moved. X and Alia took the lead, scoping the area for any enemies. Zero and Layer became the middle, and Axl and Pallette the behind. The sounds of the creatures filled the air, but none were in sight. The six maintained the group, and moved forward. They're moving slow, but at least the forest's monsters would know to keep a distance.

"_Reaching Point C-9."_ Resi announced. "_I know that you're playing it safe, but you can move a bit faster. The little woodland creatures won't bother you as long as they know you can drop them in a single hit."_

"We don't want to cause a second mess." Zero said. "These monsters are territorial and have serious anger issues, from what the reports I read. But they're also smart. Start shooting indiscriminately, and they will come after you, even if you leave."

"_Fine. But try to move a bit faster? You reached B-8."_ Resi leaned back and grabbed the apple she called 'lunch'.

Twenty minutes had passed and no action had happened. They reached point A-5, and the noise died.

"Damn. I hate when it goes quiet." Zero whispered.

"Yep. You may not hear it, but they're breathing." Axl said. "Waiting for us to break. Ready, girls?"

"Wait, are you saying we should let them come out?" Pallette asked, a little shaken. "Can they understand us; as in they know what we're planning?"

"Nah." Axl jumped back, while also knocking down X.

Six-foot frogmen wielding wooden spears jumped into the clearing, and two were instantly cut down by Zero. Pallette yelped, and fired randomly at a crowd, hitting five, but only taking down two. Layer followed up with taking the remaining three. X jumped up, and shot three before landing. Axl took flight, shooting several frogmen down before some came from behind and pinned him.

Alia just moved around. Didn't shoot, just dodged. She lifted her buster, but couldn't bring herself to fire. In the confusion of green bodies and laser fire, nobody noticed her lack of action.

All she could see was Servii.

After seventeen frogmen had fallen, the attack stopped. The remaining frogs retreated upon realizing that the Hunters and the Navigators were too strong for them. Well, just five of them. The pink one just strafed around.

"Dammit, Axl!" Zero punched him in the stomach. "Why did you do that?"

"Taking Resi's advice." Axl said after taking a moment to recover.

"That was bad advice!" Zero punched Axl in the jaw, sending him to the muddy ground. "You're the meat shield for next time, okay?"

"Fine, sorry guys." Axl wiped off some mud chunks and took the lead. Alia followed in the middle, pacing alongside X.

X out of all of them had been paying attention to Alia, due to his stronger connection to her than the others. PSTD caused by what? Layer was tough, but Pallette was just a kid; yet the latter just had the shakes. Alia had dealt with several incidents, and came out fine. What happened in the library? Did it have to do with Servii? X hated to think the worst. Perhaps an accident?

"Alia…what happened?" He whispered. Alia slowed down.

"Vile and Dynamo ambushed us while downloading the library. Servii came in, became infected. The unknown man came in, took down V and D, and took Servii." Alia's voice was tough and formal.

"I think that report is...missing some details." X grabbed Alia's arm. "Excuse me, everyone. I need to discuss something with First Class Navigator Alia." Doing a quick check on the map to prevent from landing onto anything dangerous, he and Alia leapt over a bush to a darker part of the forest.

"Is just me, or have the two been acting weird since that 'Sexual Harassment' seminar?" Asked Pallette.

"Too early." Layer replied.

"X…what?" Alia managed to break free from the hold.

"What happened? Signas knew something is wrong with you. I can tell. What's wrong?" X's voice was calm and soothing. Alia didn't want any of it.

"N-nothing. I'm fine. Just troubled that I could have done something to save her." Alia said, placing her hands on her shoulders, rubbing them. Her voice started to crack.

"Alia, not to sound too emotional, but you're hurting. Please, just come out." X tried to get close, but Alia backed up.

"…it's not that important. I just feel like I could have done more."

"Dynamo and Vile are the two Reploids alive close to the power of Sigma. If you, Layer, and Pallette attacked together at one of them, you may just wound him. A…flesh wound, if you will. They could have cleaned the floors in the entire base with your heads and not even break a sweat. I'm sorry, but that battle had a 99% chance of loss. You're alive."

"…that's not helping."

"I'm telling you the facts. You like facts, right?"

"…yeah."

"We'll get Servii back. This guy who kidnapped her used sneak tactics, a common sign of a weak or unsure person; but just also a common tactic. This will be either easy or hard, but you have me, Zero, and Axl. Come on, smile a bit." Alia shifted back.

X decided to be blunt.

"Listen, did you put her out of her misery?" Alia looked up, and promptly slapped X.

"HOW DARE YOU! You think I would kill one of my friends?" Alia yelled. She got close to X's face.

"Your voice…is angry." X sternly said. Alia backed down.

"You're hiding the fact that something horrible had happened. I can see it. The others could, if not for the urgency of the mission; which only you know all the details to. Yet, I can read you. That's one of my best, and most horrible traits. Hiding these things wouldn't help you, or anyone. Talk. Let it out. Trust me, you will feel better."

"X…" Alia tried to keep her anger. But X's face stopped her. Tough, but yet calm. Stern, yet warm.

"…I killed her. The virus took control of her body. It unleashed something inside her, I don't know what. She took out everyone, including Dynamo and Vile. I killed her. I…just shot her through the chest. She fell. I got her blood on me. I could smell the burning metal and circuits that I fried. That man cleaned the evidence of my crime." She started to breath heavily.

"Alia...calm down."

"It's my fault. It's my fault. It's my fault. Oh, god, it's my fault."

"Alia…do you need a hug?"

"…please?"

"Let it all out." The two embraced. Alia's eyes drowned in tears, and X's torso became drenched.

"…you hear that?" Zero said.

"Yeah. I figured as much." Layer replied.

"Good thing X is such a softy. We need people like him." Axl said, pulling out a pack of gum. "Gum, anyone?" Everyone took a piece.

"Get better, Alia." Pallette said silently before chewing the piece.

* * *

"Hey, Alia, can you face this?" Axl asked, switching to his G-Launcher.

She nodded. "Yes."

"_You reached A-3. Good luck guys."_

**WELCOME.**

"It's him." Alia activated the silent charge. "He's serious."

**COME HITHER. I HAVE BEEN EXPECTING YOU.**

"That voice…is scary." Pallette said with a tremor.

**YOU'RE LATE. DON'T KEEP ME WAITING.**

"Heh heh heh…he sounds like a powerful person." Zero switched the setting on his Z-Saber to the highest.

**HAHAHA! THE NAVIGATORS ARE JOINING IN? THIS SHALL BE AN INTERESTING BATTLE!**

"Indeed." Layer followed Zero's lead.

**IT HAS BEEN FAR TOO LONG SINCE I'VE SEEN SUCH CALIBER INA FIGHTER.**

"This is going to be…awesome." Axl locked and loaded.

**COME! FIGHT TO THE DEATH WITH ME!**

"All right, go." X led the charge into the clearing.

"**Welcome!"**

Everyone stopped at the sight of the kidnapper. It had to be. Servii laid, in normal form, on a tree stump.

The figure looked like an evil circus ringmaster; dark blue, red, and black color made up a raggy outfit and a large cloak. The most defining thing about him was his mask. It was a fusion of the two theatre masks, comedy and drama. Yet, the masks were…_different._ The blue comedy mask looked more insane; with a Cheshire Cat grin and a swirly eye. The red drama mask became the mask of pure anger; twisted. The figure turned his head to the side. The mask rotated.

"Ah! Welcome! As I said, you're late! Please, sit down!" The figure lifted his cloak, and three tables with two chairs to each came into view. The tables were done in an obvious French style. Alia noticed that his voice was much more chipper and upbeat than the kidnapper.

"Err…ah…" Alia tried to think of something smart to say to her friend's kidnapper.

"Please! I can make you anything of these menus!" He reached into a space inside of his cloak and retrieved six menus and handed them to the group. Nobody had a chance to resist or block the menus. Pallette, on a whim, opened and checked. Expensive seafood, high quality meat dishes, Italian noodles, and French beverages and deserts.

Before anyone could react in any manner, a gust of wind flew all into the seats, pairing up the Hunters with their respective Navigators, and removing their helmets and putting them on a hat-rack. Candles were lit, and fine French grape wine poured into fine crystal glasses. The man was a blur.

"Well, sorry for the location. It's hard to get to, fine clothes would get caught and probably get you killed, but hey, nice scenery!" The figure said, while setting up a 'kitchen'. "If you're into this kind of thing." He said, in the voice that Alia recognized as the kidnapper. Great, a dual personality kidnapper. This should be fun. X had watched her face and figured it out also.

"Well, Mr. X and Miss Alia, what piques your interest?" He asked, holding a pad and pencil.

"Your name." Alia stated with a cold voice.

"Manners." The figure said in his 'happy' voice. Alia growled under her breath.

"May we first learn the name of our waiter, please?"Alia said, with her best formal voice she could muster.

The figure bowed, holding both ends with both hands. "My name is DuoMask. The MOST POWERFUL person on THE PLANET!" His voice rang throughout the forest.

"What about Sigma?" X asked.

"His record of dying diminishes his true power. True, my powers need some time to charge up, and I mean a LONG time, but I'm sure I could, quote: '(I) could have cleaned the floors in the entire base with (his) head (s) and not even break a sweat.' End quote. Okay, I changed some parts, but I can do it!" He said, specifically looking at X and Alia. Alarms went off in their heads.

"You're more like a super waiter." Zero threw his menu into a pond. The menu returned to his hands.

"I like helping people, that's all. You guys have been fighting such a long war, I think it's only fair that you deserve a good meal for once." DuoMask pulled out a cloth and cleaning fluid to clean the helmets.

"I'm ready to order." Layer said, oddly calm.

"Ah, good, a customer!" The pad and pencil returned to his hands. "Yes?"

"I would like the Italian Breaded Chicken with Noodles…"

"Yes, yes…"

"…the small César salad…."

"…gotta watch those carbs…"

"…the Frapin VS cognac…"

"…not my choice, but still good…"

"…and an answer." Layer placed her menu down.

"Ah…thought as much."

"Why did you take our friend?"

"You mean the body? Oh…that!" He pointed to Servii and had a small laugh. "The Angel Storage Unit?"

"The what?" Zero asked.

"Angel Storage Unit, you yokel." The 'angry' voice came into action. "The name says it all. It's a unit...that stores…an angel."

"Angel?" Zero asked again. DuoMask stopped moving, a rare instance. He darted over and slammed his hand on the table, knocking over the wine glasses. He stopped. A gust fixed the mess; as if nothing happened.

"Well…I guess the question is both stupid…and good. You know about the DeathArcana?"

"Yes." Layer said.

"The highest rank of robots for the Arcana. Powerful, fast, and nigh invincible. Here's the kooky thing. They contained…human souls." The smile seemed to extend.

"What?" Zero said.

"What, what, what? You've a problem there, Zero-o." DuoMask flicked him. "Yes, the Arcana took the souls of their greatest. The generals and the sages. They protected the society. Until all died, and no one could maintain the Angels. Decay isn't the best word for it. They just…vanished. Nobody knew. Nobody…cared. They were too powerful. The Angels took the fun out of war."

DuoMask took a breath, and Layer's meal suddenly appeared right in front of her. He continued. "But I found a record of a…unusual angel. The soul it contained wasn't one, but two fused. One of a mighty general who protected the city for 100 years. The sage credited with the idea of the Replacement. The Angel was designed with one purpose, to activate the Final Machine."

"Servii." Layer whispered.

"Yes. Your friend was sent into a suspended state and awakened when the Final Machine is finished."

"Let me guess…this 'Final Machine' is the final step in the Replacement." Zero said.

"Ah! The Great Zero finally said something smart." DuoMask patted Zero on his head.

"So…could I have a steak?" Axl asked. It appeared in a flash. Axl looked around to everyone, and dived in. "It's good!"

"Thank you!" DuoMask bowed.

"So you like helping people, huh? So what do you plan on doing with Servii?" Axl said in between chews.

"Questions, questions, questions! Aren't you hungry?" DuoMask looked to the four who hadn't ordered. Layer was taking her time eating, planning. "Well, Alia, save for you, given what just happened." Alia fidgeted in her seat.

A silence hung.

"…So? How is it?" DuoMask asked.

"...It's good." Layer said, carefully putting down the cognac.

"Great!" Axl ripped off a piece off his steak. "The last time I had a steak this good, Sigma…" Axl stopped, as the steak and table fell into two pieces. "What the hell!"

"I'm sorry…I forgot to mention…**THIS IS YOUR LAST DINNER!"** The 'angry' voice came into full swing, as all the restaurant equipment exploded.

"Talk about bipolar!" Axl said, despite the burning forest. Everyone pulled their weapons out, as DuoMask extended to full height, an unseen aura surrounding him.

He attacked first, sending down giant balls of fire upon everyone. Everyone scattered, with Zero deflecting two fireballs. A whirlwind protected DuoMask, and the fireball set it ablaze. DuoMask pushed the whirlwind literally, with his hands, and Zero managed to slash it, dissipating the fiery whirlwind. Both leapt forward, with DuoMask grabbing the Z-Saber and throwing it. Zero got in a punch to the face, but he felt more pain than his opponent.

The others were having problems. Fire rain down, trees toppling over, and the mud started to swallow everything. X and Alia had to retreat to avoid being burned and/or sinking. Without their helmets, a little bit of their hair started to burn, but no extensive damage was done. When they managed to get through their 'path through hell', they found themselves behind DuoMask, currently strangling Zero. The two fired a shot together, and all that happened was that Zero managed to escape.

Axl found a tree that hadn't been burned yet and got to a safe high point. He aimed his G-Launcher straight at DuoMask's…err…mask. He fired one shot. DuoMask did feel that, as he stepped back. Axl smiled, though the smile disappeared when DuoMask walked towards the tree, smoke still covering his mask. Axl fired like crazy, hitting more than missing. Each successful shot stopped DuoMask for a second, but soon the tree was uprooted and Axl jumped to the ground.

Layer had moved Zero to a safe spot for rest before joining. She noticed that DuoMask only focused on one person at a time. It didn't help that the burning forest made it near impossible to group up and attack. Nobody could get organized. She dashed over to slash DuoMask in the back, saving Axl, who thanked Layer by unloading two pistols into DuoMask's mask X and Alia jumped over a ring of fire and also fired everything they had onto DuoMask. DuoMask flung his cloak around, reflecting the shots. This lead to Pallette shooting him in the mask, stunning him.

The four shooters opened fire on DuoMask, trapping him. His body jerked all around, yet his clothes remained fine, despite all the burning plasma hitting him at all sides. Zero got up and retrieved his fallen Z-Saber, and with all of his strength, threw it at the torso. The Z-Saber imbedded itself in the chest area, and the firing stopped. DuoMask's mask hung low, and one hand grabbed the Z-Saber.

With one swift pull, the Z-Saber came out, and DuoMask spiraled around, hitting everyone with a green shockwave. Pallette, being the farthest away, taking only a scratch. After hitting the ground, she fired like crazy, trying to hit DuoMask, and something else, hopefully a tree to knock it down. DuoMask, tossing the Z-Saber aside, walked slowly to the fallen Navigator.

Luck was on her side. A burning tree fell straight onto DuoMask, and he disappeared under it. Pallette got up and rushed to the side of the closest ally, Zero.

"He's still here! Move!" Zero grabbed Pallette and rolled to the side as a giant fist came down onto the ground where Pallette once stood. The others, with groans and grunts, got up and continued the assault. DuoMask dodged everything and countered with melee, but that also got avoided. For an entire minute, nobody was even touched.

Then Zero got the upper hand. He managed to trick DuoMask into dodging an imaginary slash, and hitting him with his buster. X charged in and went to town, knocking him to the ground after first flying into a tree. Everyone else; venting their anger by curb stomping DuoMask.

He stopped moving.

The fire stopped. Everyone grabbed their helmets, still on the oddly dry hat-rack, put the chairs back up and sat down. The fight didn't last long, but it wore them out. The muddy ground slowed them, the fire scorched them on all sides, and DuoMask lived up to his boasts. Good thing they took him out while…

…yes, he's still alive.

"Good fight!" DuoMask jumped up, returning to his happy voice. "Six of you managed to take me, and win!" He laughed. He got close to Zero, who didn't react. "That's weird. You've been fighting a war, well, three of you have. Am I so tiring?" He patted Zero on the back of the head.

He walked over to Servii. The area around her was untouched. Like a groom, he picked her up and stepped onto the now empty stump. "Well, before I go, I'll tell you this. When you wake up, head east, to the abandoned metal factory. One of Sigma's generals is setting up his base. Get an head start while you can." He switched to his angry voice. "You're going to need it." Energy started to build up around him.

"Wait." Alia raised her hand.

"Yes, I have time for one more question." DuoMask said in his happy voice.

"Why do need Servii? Why do you need the technology of the Arcana?"

DuoMask was silent.

He spoke, in a different voice than the other two. "To save the world."

He vanished. Everyone's vision faded to black.

* * *

_Sorry for the delay._


	4. The Killing Feeling

"_Hey. Someone Answer!"_

Resi laid her head down. For an entire hour she tried to contact anyone on the rescue team, but to no avail. When they reached the point, she lost contact. She plugged and unplugged everything. She messed with the circuits. No contact. She started to run out of breath.

"Report!" Resi turned around to see Signas strode in.

"They made contact, that's all I got." Resi said.

"That's all?" Signas sat down. "That's not good! Dammit, I knew it. This was a mistake."

"Hey…did you did the exact same thing at least 10 years ago?" Asked Resi. "Remember the Nest Canal?"

"Different circumstances then, my ally had the key. Servii was a lost cause; we may just lost our six most important..."

"Commander!" Resi slapped Signas. "We need everyone in this war! May I remind you that she had access to the Library?"

"I… apologize." Signas said. "I…just knew it. I just knew that something would go wrong. I knew that the shit would hit the fan."

"They knew it too. That's why they went." Resi started to tap something in. "I have a idea…but promise me something."

"Yes, the woman who just slapped me?"

"You deserved it, and you know it. Promise me that they can't sue me for damages."

"Oh-kay…"

"All right." She reached into a cabinet and retrieved a pair of headphones. "I think you want these." Signas tenderly put them on. Resi removed hers, and pressed a button to extend a microphone. Signas pressed his hands down tight on his headphones. He knew Resi's special talent, as Alia had warned him before Resi arrived. She took a huge breath and gripped the microphone tightly.

"_HEY! RISE AND SHINE, ASSHATS!"_

Everyone back at the forest fell out of the chairs and landed on in the mud.

Alia was the first to recover. Resi's bellowing voice combined with her trademark insult was enough to wake the dead, and then scare them off. She looked around the former battleground. Nothing changed; Alia had taught herself to remember scenes after Gate. The same trees burnt down, the kitchen equipment still laid in the same place where DuoMask tossed them, and the area around the tree stump remained intact. The mist still stood. Nothing changed.

Here, anyway. The war still raged. Sigma was still at large. And…DuoMask?

DuoMask. That was a good question. He explained, and, yet, didn't. Yes, he kidnapped Servii to activate the 'Final Machine', which is part of the Arcana's dream to replace the universe with Arcana technology. What was the 'Final Machine', exactly? The Arcana all died; hence the new moniker, DeathArcana. Obviously, the 'Final Machine' would finish the job. If so, where was it? It had to be huge, seeing of course the Arcana wished to replace EVERYTHING in the universe. Should they go after him, or after Sigma?

Who was DuoMask, anyway? He knew more than what he told, that's a given. But what's his origin? Did he tell the truth? Is what they fought really just a sample? He did say his powers took a while to charge. If so, how long? Could they stop him before that point of no return?

Alia stopped thinking. Her head started to swell. Too many questions, never enough answers.

Well…that other thing he mentioned before leaving.

"_Well, before I go, I'll tell you this. When you wake up, head east, to the abandoned metal factory. One of Sigma's generals is setting up his base. Get a head start while you can. You're going to need it_."

"A head start, huh?" Said Axel, after bending his back. "That's great! No more teleporting in to the entrance of the bad guy's lair. No more fighting through endless respawning waves of enemies! Advance to Boss, collect 200 Zenny." Axl pumped his fist.

"It's a trap."Zero said. "There's no way that a guy who would set a trap out here and then send us in the direction of an important enemy figure in our war. I don't believe it."

"So we should just head back?" Asked Pallette.

"…not much of a choice." Zero grimly said. He walked down the path they came in from.

"Wrong way, Zero." X said, pointing in the right way. "We're heading east."

"X." Zero said, using a tone of voice to warn X.

"Listen, Zero. DuoMask is a force to reckon with. But he left us alive with a hint. I think we should take it. At least, let us head to back to the truck. We can refresh, and drive it to the metal factory. It's too hard to pass up."

"And…" Zero waved his hand.

"…If it's a trap…we spring it and run back to HQ. If we could go an round with our masked friend, I think we could handle one of Sigma's generals just fine." X said.

"X…you've been hanging around Axl for too long." Zero said with a sigh.

"Zero, a general is within 100 miles of HQ. Sigma is going attack again. I…we can't let that happen." X stopped talking and walked away.

"Zero…" Layer started to say. Zero put his hand up and followed X.

"So…off to the boss fight of Chapter One." Axl said. He put his weapon away and followed.

"Chapter One?" Pallette asked.

"Chapter One: It Always Begins Like This." Axl shouted back.

"No! What does it mean?" Pallette ran after Axl to get an answer.

Layer silently also followed. "Coming, Alia? Or…do you need some time?" Alia nodded. Layer went to the fridge, and removed a pack of frozen meat. "I'll make dinner. You still like currywurst?"Alia gave a thumbs-up. Layer smiled and left with a bag.

Alia sat down on the stump. She sighed. What a day. First, Pasture City is attacked by Sigma's army in an effort to use the city as a stepping stone to get to Hunter HQ. Second, it's revealed that the attack was a front to gain access to the Library, using X, Zero, Axl as cover. Third, she, Layer, and Pallette took control of the situation and handled the attack, but it ended with her killing a friend, and her body being taken by a mysterious force. Fourth, both the Hunters and Navigators teaming up to recover Servii ended with a whole lot of confusion being added in, all coming from the possible embodiment of confusion itself.

Alia had to stop again. Too much thinking.

Where to go now? Well, after this anyway. Go back to Navigating? Or continue alongside the Hunters? Adrenaline continued to pump into her system; it felt like it would never stop. Sure, she hadn't navigated in at least over four hours….but she felt like she could never navigate again.

She switched to her buster. It worked worn. Worn for a buster meant for self-defense.

It was never going to be for self-defense; no more.

Something glittered near the stump, in the edge of Alia's eye. She reached over for it.

Servii's necklace, which…heh…was two angelic wings surrounding an orb. Actually, it's the first time that Alia seen it, as Servii hid it under her armor. Just holding it in her hand somehow lifted her spirits. A narrow smile came on her face.

"Alia?" She turned to see X coming back. "You okay?"

"Could you sit down with me?" Alia asked, moving to the side. X smiled and sat down. "Still having problems?" He asked.

"A little. I don't think I will be able to navigate again." Alia had a timid, little laugh.

"Can't calm down?"

"Yeah."

"That's adrenaline pumping in your system. Keep some of that for the general."

"Actually, I feel...weird."

"Like...you want to...kill something?"

"Yeah. How did you..."

"Alia... that's the 'killing' feeling."

"Sounds dangerous."

"Yes. I'll explain. A person who leads a calm, peaceful life builds up energy; reckless, wanton adrenaline. When a certain event hits them, it all comes out, at once. And once that happens, no force on the planet can hold that person back…save for the one force that can stop anything, regardless."

"Death."

"I had that once, after my first retirement. Didn't end well. Zero had to pull me off a limbless torso."

"Yeah, I heard about that."

"You go blind. Well, tunnel vision is more accurate. You see only the enemy. **You don't even see the blood.**" X's voice on the last line caused a tear to roll down his cheek.

"Looks like I depressed you. Sorry." Alia hugged X.

"Thanks. Well, at least we can share the pain."

"Share pain? Does that make people feel better?"

"Depends. Do you…love me?"

"X…that was fast, you pig!" Alia laughed.

"Guess I should gone down the subtile route."

"...you want a answer?"

"If it helps."

"...yes. I do."

"Then, it helps. And, I love you."

The two embraced tight, and their lips made contact.

Before the war, the two shared a bed, but others (save for Zero, Axl and Layer) didn't know, just knew that they shared a room. The relationship, like all relationships, faded once the war started. The continuous missions, bottomless pile of reports, and the endless hours dissolved the two's chemistry. They barely had time to even talk face-to-face. So after months of war, and one horrible day, one kiss made the day.

"Come on! It's your plan!" Zero shouted from down the path.

"To the general?" Alia asked.

"To the general." X confirmed.

* * *

"_Good thing you guys have the best computers in the world. Nothing compared to the crap I used at East Central Those cheap asshats couldn't even spring for anything within the recent five years Good thing I'm smart enough to make my own stuff..." _

"Resi." Layer sternly said.

"_All right. The metal factory you're heading off to closed down during the fifth Sigma war. Same company that owned the Recycle Lab that Metal Shark…is it Player or Prayer?"_

"Either would do." Zero said. "Even the guy himself tended to say both.

"_Thankfully, the factory is much smaller than the lab. Much smaller. In fact, a fire destroyed all but one facility, a hangar once used to store and transport metal. It's fairly large, but little hiding places. This should be 'enter and leave'._ _Don't let up guard, but don't worry too much."_

"Resi, Sigma's generals aren't just regular soldiers promoted. They're either hand-picked, or made to become generals." X explained. "Regardless of area. We're close to HQ, so this guy could be either a strategy genius or a powerful fighter. "

"Or a throw-away, like the attack on the city earlier." Layer theorized.

"Or a throw-away." X agreed. "Anyway, we should head and deal with the Maverick."

"_Good. Keep me in the loop. Hold on._" A silence hung. "_Hey, Douglas has something to say. Turning over the mic." _A shuffling sound came into the helmets (or Layer and Pallette's headset) as Resi moved to let Douglas talk.

"_Hey. You guys feeling okay?"_

"Not so well, Techman." Axl replied. Douglas sighed. Axl never called him by his name, rather a nickname that first appeared when a bully of a engineer taunted Douglas after failing to beat Toadman on the original, video game adaption of the Fourth Wily War.

"_Not going to bother. My apprentice, how are you doing?"_

"Douglas, I haven't been your apprentice since you left. Do you need something?" Said Pallette.

_Listen…look at your equipment, everyone."_

"Why?" Asked Pallette.

"_Just do it!"_

Everyone groaned, and humored Douglas. The busters were losing energy, the swords were losing their form, and the pistols looked rusty; the Pallette Special had a problem with firing.

"_I thought so._ _ You Hunters haven't stopped, and the Navigators haven't used them in a long time, and the horrible weather hasn't been helping."_

"You got new weapons?" Asked X.

"_Yep! First up: The Hunter Buster! It used to be a standard Hunter buster, until I opened it up and fiddled with it. Factory settings always suck, you know? Next: The Longsword! The Z-Saber is good, but it needs a break. I based it off a familiar sword from an old game series; a spinoff of your older brother, X."_

"Heh."

"_And finally: The Maverick Shot! I found a way to target just Mavericks! Doesn't matter what virus they have, just aim, and watch the oil fly! If…they have oil. Blood, I guess. There's three here, so Axl can still dual-wield."_

"Techman, I love you."

"_Axl…"_ Douglas groaned. "_They will be here when you get back; I still have to finish some parts. I also got access to the Kevlar Vest and Field Vest armor. They're better than the rusty and non-practical things you're wearing that you call armor. I will have new stuff ready as it goes, but…"_

"Let me guess….does it have to with money?" Asked Zero, with a sigh.

"_I'm sorry, guys. It's going to require some money to prepare and ship. Some shops will be better equipped than me."_

"What do you mean by that last remark?" Asked Axl. Douglas

"_The teleport is still buggy. I can't teleport you to the general's base, but to other Hunter bases. Signas says you guys are going to work over-overtime. Sounds like a huge adventure."_

"An adventure?" Asked Pallette.

"It's going there." Axl said. "It's going to be a world-tour, so pack your bags and get the best [Items] available, strap on your [Equipment], ready your [Skills], and set sail!"

"Huh? Axl, why is there brackets in your speech?" Rightfully asked Pallette.

"How can you see my brackets?"Properly questioned Axl.

"Just drop it, you two." Sternly said Layer.

"_M..e..ugl.s"_ Resi could be heard, just not very well. A loud noise sounding like something hitting the floor could be heard.

"_I'll stop him before he starts his ad-pitch. You're two minutes away from the hangar. And…Alia._"Alia's personal receiver only picked up after the 'and'. To keep silent, she blinked once, sending the mental command for 'yes'.

"_I figured out what happened in the Library. Signas also realized it. We understand. Signas isn't going to court-martial you, but he does want the details. Can you give a full report, no problems?"_

"Yes. I'm fine now. Resi, when we get back…"

"_Yeah?"_

"I would like to introduce my friends to your special stew."

"_You do remember that I can potentially read your mind? On the stove right now."_

"Thanks." Resi signed off.

"Resi can cook?" Asked Layer.

"Only a family recipe. A beef oxtail blend. You'll like it."

"Alia, there's an old war adage you should know." X said. He cleared his throat. "In war, any meal is a good meal."

Alia laughed. Everyone had a little jump. Nobody laughed in a while, save for Axl (and for obvious reasons.). It had a real feeling in it. An actual, real laugh. Coming from Alia, from all people, given recent events. It spread, even serious-minded Resi had a good chuckle.

In times like this, any sort or any size of a good laugh is needed.

* * *

The drop-off and entrance went without a hitch. No sort of defense had been set up, so they just walked in. Did DuoMask tell the truth, and this is a head-start? Or was nothing here?

"Resi…can you do a scan of the area?" Asked X.

"_Pallette, can you help with that?"_

"Just drag the map file to the scan program." Pallette responded.

"_Right. Scanning."_ Everyone made a circle, waiting for the results. "_Got one thing. Right in front of you, Axl."_ Axl looked forward. Nothing. He looked up. A tall figure stood on top of a chained ruin of a plane. Axl pointed both guns forward. "Halt! Hunters! Come down and surrender quietly! You're outnumbered!"

"**Whee-hee-hee-hee-ho-ho-ho-ah!** **Please, will the audience step back! This show is going to be explosive!**" The figure jumped straight up and landed on the ground with sparks of colorful, bright light dancing around the figure. He continued to laugh.

"**Ladies and gentlemen…the show is starting! Sponsored by Lord Sigma himself, coming all the way to entertain the Maverick Hunters, IIIIIIIIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTT'SSSSSSSSSSSSSS GLITTER HHOOORRRRSSSSSEEEEEEE!" **A white horse with a flowing purple mane, and pink detail appeared in a spotlight that came from nowhere. He was buff, and…sparkled.

"_I can see that."_ Resi called. "_I __can__…__see__…__that.__ What is that?"_

"That?" Axl said. "That's Sigma running out of ideas. That's Sigma sending something to torture us. I…I..." Axl grabbed his head with both hands. "WHAT….IS….THIS….IDONTEVEN."

"Hey! Garcon! Don't mock me by appearance! I look weird, but then again, YOU look weird to ME!" Glitter…Horse said.

You know…I created the idea for this story a long time ago. I've made many changes, including people and events. This guy had been there since the beginning. What the hell was in the food that night? Oh, wait. You guys wouldn't know that. Sorry.

"Er…You ARE a general of Sigma, right?" Asked Layer.

"Correct mademoiselle." Horse spun around, sending some rainbow sparks at the group.

Uncomfortable yet?

"I'm the master of distraction, illusion, and all things that to drive my enemies mad to the point of becoming one of us." Horse laughed again. "My enemy is you guys. Good thing you found me early, I considered turning this place into a fortress, and filling it with random, endless-respawning soldiers. And that wouldn't be fun, wouldn't you agree garcon?"

"I guess…" Axl replied.

"Garcon." Horse shook his head. "I don't know how you found me, but I'll fight you. Right here and right now!"

"Jumping the fence a little too fast, horse." Zero said.

"Oh? Yes, merde-guider?" Asked Horse, secretly insulting Zero. Layer later told him the translation.

"You seem too eager to fight. Most generals talk about something; like their reason to fight."

"I guess I should exposit, fillete. I fight…to fight!" More colorful sparks came flying out, creating a mini-light show. "Strong people are the most interesting people on the planet! They're the ones who order others around. They're the ones who model the world with their ideals. They make the best art. Even the Tres Mademoiselle here can make a beautiful Earth. You…all of you…radiate just like a sun. A sun that breathes life into an entire solar system, and inspires others to create art."

"Heh." Zero switched to the highest setting, even knowing that his old sword may not hold. "Sounds good to me."

"HA! Muet-aliboron, I'm glad to see that you're ready!" Horse's nose flared, and the light show stopped.

"**LET'S DANCE, BAY-BY!"**

* * *

"Know any good prison songs?"

Vile responded in the way he knew best. Throwing a loose brick at Dynamo's head.

After the attack, the memory-wiped, drained, unconscious Maverick leaders were thrown into the highest security cell that was operational. No one had time to watch them, between the repairs, the cleaning, and various other tasks to put Hunter HQ into working order. Vile had started to remove the brick walls (The HQ used to be a Police Station in an earlier life.) and Dynamo just sat on the sleeping board. That is, until Vile gave the white-hair mercenary a concussion.

"Listen…what're you doing?" Asked Dynamo, after tapping his head.

"Escaping, you lazy bastard."

"Yeah. You do know that beyond the bricks is 921 stainless Tungsten steel alloy, the strongest material on the planet. A sun couldn't burn it."

"Impossible!" Vile ripped two bricks out of the wall. "Sigma only has enough to make chest armor for himself! Where did they get enough to encase the base with it?"

"Douglas." Dynamo said, ducking under a brick. "I set up a mini spy camera here one time to find…blackmail…"

"…or getting Alia's measurements." Dynamo eyes went wide. Vile laughed. "I saw those tapes. I have clearance to go anywhere in the world. Either by key or gun."

"…Moving on. I saw Douglas experiment with a shard of 921. He was able to 'clone' it." Vile stopped.

"Cloning? You mean…"

"No, not exactly. Well…" Dynamo scratched his head. "Let me explain, it's a weird. He scanned it, and managed to recreate the alloy. He created a machine that can recreate an item, just not as great as the original. During our visit to the library, I checked out the book on that machine. It's so black-ops, that even Signas is unaware of it. So only you, me, Douglas and the highest authority in the Hunters know of this machine. And look…" Dynamo pulled out his hair a computer chip. "Painful little bastard. Had to attach this to my skin so it could stick."

"You kept a piece of the library?" Vile shuffled over to take the chip, but Dynamo put it in his pocket. "Give it!"

"I only got the information on the Metalicator…yes, Douglas chose that name. It takes cheaper metals and modifies it to make stronger metals. I have footage of how the machine works, and this chip…" Dynamo shuffled around in his pocket to annoy Vile. "…has the plans. Of course, most of the details are kept a secret, but I'm sure our engineers can remake it."

"So…we came in to steal the entire library…instead, we get a small piece."

"Ah…but this small piece definitely will keep us alive." Dynamo said. "So…step back, will ya?" Vile sighed and moved away from the brick wall. Dynamo walked over and picked up a brick. "So. What is your plan?" Asked Vile. "If your 921 is strong as it says, what makes you so sure that you…"

Vile got interrupted when a brick came flying into his face. Without evening questioning, Vile jumped onto Dynamo, and the two wrestled, causing a loud disturbance.

Just what Dynamo wanted.

* * *

The battle…wasn't going well.

"I CAN'T HIT…ARGH!" Axl said right before a burst of light struck him in the back. Horse laughed (Read: whinny) and vanished in a flash of light before Layer could even swipe him. She quickly dashed forward to avoid a barrage of hooves.

"SOMEONE! HIT HIM! I DON'T CARE IF IT'S A FLICK…JUST HIT HIM…WOAH!" Zero rolled to one side to avoid a column of light, which then exploded into a flash, which Zero couldn't avoid. Horse jumped down, and hooked Zero. Once again, vanished before a Hunter could get to him.

"This is stupid." X growled, after hiding behind a rusted metal crate. Alia joined him after firing some shots at a empty space. "He's messing with us. I doubt he's even trying."

"X, are you getting…" Asked Alia.

"No, just annoyed." X charged up, and fired at Glitter Horse, hitting him. "I feel better now."

"Hey! Merde! That hurt!" Horse said before he vanished in a puff of smoke and light.

Zero, after getting back to his feet, stood still. He closed his eyes. Glitter Horse used light to distract foes. Light doesn't make noise, useless you added something, and your ears couldn't help you either. So sight, hearing, smell, and taste couldn't help. Touch couldn't work unless you know where the enemy is.

Unless your enemy likes getting close to you.

Zero spun around, sending a ring of energy in the span of five feet, slicing through several metal crates, an old plane, and Glitter Horse, creating a deep slice in his chest. Light purple liquid poured out of the gash, and Horse yelled out loud. He clapped his front hooves together, and the entire hangar got flash-banged. Everyone, save Pallette, got stunned and collapsed to the floor, their eyes tearing. Pallette got saved, thanks to her hiding in a locker at the last second. She got out, and rushed to the side of Alia, on the ground moaning.

"You made me use my special, merde! My brilliant Mind Blow! But now, I have you!" Horse, holding a hoof to his wound, walked over to X and kicked him halfway across the room. "I'm going to use your bodies to make art!" He grabbed Layer by the legs, and threw her like a boomerang. "You! Violette woman! I'm going to turn you into a statue more beautiful than the Venus de Milo!"

He held Axl up, above his head, and bought him down on his knee. "Marron garcon! I'll drain your blood to use as paint! I shall call my painting… 'The Smile of Death!"

"Then SMILE." Pallette shouted, firing everything she had at the Horse's back. Despite having thick armor on his back, Horse took serious damage. He couldn't react, his spine had became temporally paralyzed. As he tried to turn around and at least fall on Pallette, she instead ran up and jump-kicked him, dropping her pistol in the process. He went to the ground, writhing in pain.

"When…did you learn that?" Asked Axl, who managed to recover from the flash.

"I took classes! What were you doing?" Pallette yelled back.

Alia wiped her eyes clear of tears. She could see, just blurry. But her hearing was just fine. Pallette sounded like a killer. She shook her head, clearing the mental cobwebs. Her vision became better, she could see all the way to the end of the hangar. Pallette looked mad. In the forest, she was scared. First true field experience for her. Now, after two hours of fighting and traveling, she got it.

Pallette got the killing feeling.

To prove that point, Pallette kicked Horse hard enough for the Maverick to yell in pain. She power-walked over to her pistol and picked it up. She fired four shots, hitting both legs and both arms. Horse just whimpered. Pallette, being a soccer fan, brushed up on her kicking skills on Horse, kicking him everywhere. Pallette just grunted.

"Pallette! Pallette!" Alia jumped onto Pallette, knocking both down. Alia quickly grabbed both arms and shifted her weight to hold down the legs down. Pallette struggled, but her thin body and limbs couldn't budge Alia's more toned body.

"Let…me…GO!" Pallette yelled. "I need to finish him off!"

"Stop, please! Pallette!" Alia tried to talk her down.

"He's a Maverick!" Pallette shouted in a demonic voice. She was in deep in the feeling. Too deep. "We need to KILL him! Like what X, Zero, Axl do!"

"Pallette. They killed the Mavericks in the past because they had no choice. Here, we have a choice. Let us take him back to base, interrogate him! We could use the information!"

"NO! Why should I listen to you? You killed Servii! Just like a Maverick!" Pallette yelled.

Alia loosed up. Pallette, with an unseen strength, threw her off. Alia became numb.

Pallette was right.

Pallette went back kicking Horse. She also activated her hair to attack, sending them into orbit around Horse, diving one at the time. Alia looked at Pallette, who took a break before resuming the kicking. Pallette was breathing heavy, but not making any others sounds. A silent killer.

Alia got back to her feet. Again, she tackled Pallette, this time going a little easier. Pallette's struggle was actually less forceful.

"Pallette. Please listen." Alia said with an calm, soothing voice.

"Grr…"

"Listen. Yes, I killed Servii. Just like a Maverick. I feel like crap. I really do. But, do you want to be like me? A killer? Please think about this. Don't be like me. You'll live with this for the rest of your life."

Pallette gasped. Her berserker face faded, and her eyes started to tear up. Alia let her go.

"Fillette…" Said Horse, with great pain in his voice, but also a hint of compassion. "The killing feeling…it has a double meaning; the second being a little obscure."

"What do you mean?" AskedX, reaching for the plasma cuffs he bought along.

"You know the first meaning. The wanting to kill, the rage of a berserker, blind, emotionless ." Horse, with a grunt, got up, and allowed X to arrest him. X gently applied the cuffs. "The second meaning? Once you kill, it starts to kill you on the inside." Horse turned to X. "I surrender. Grant me medical attention and I will help you."

"Just that?" Asked X.

"I follow the strongest, remember? It's...my thing." X grabbed the cuffs, but Horse turned away. "I walk to your truck. Help your friend."

He walked outside, limping, yet not complaining.

"Alia?" Asked a somber Pallette.

"Yes?"

"I'm sorry." Pallette buried her head in Alia's chest. "I'm so sorry!"

She started to cry.

Pallette was young, but she didn't cry a lot. Like all Navigators, she was trained to remain calm at all times; one of her finest qualities that got her promoted to where she is now. She never cried around anyone in the base. When she learned of her mother's death, she calmly asked for a permission to take leave and left. She came back with red eyes.

This was the first time she cried in front of others. It was also the first time that she had others comfort her. Her first true field experience ended with her friends hugging her.

She felt…better.

* * *

"You know…I could have acted…you didn't have to throw a brick at me." Vile said, grabbing the dead Hunter and throwing him over the shoulder.

"I prefer authentic to staged." Said Dynamo, recovering their weapons and such. "In situations like this, anyway."

"Well…authentic can be faked." Vile walked down the hall, looking for a dumping ground.

"Eh." Dynamo took a backpack from the wall to store some extra weapons. He extracted the chip and put it in a pocket.

"You think they notice that two of Sigma's best has escaped?"

"Nah. I overheard that a van is picking us up to take us to a high security prison. Do you like vans?"

"Preferably stocked with weapons, but I'll take it."

"They do have shotguns in those vans."

"Cheap-ass, single-use shotguns. But…cheap-ass materials make better stuff."

"That's the spirit!" Dynamo slapped Vile on the shoulder. Vile didn't react. "Do you think Sigma would like us if we free some criminals along the way?"

"Well…oh. Is that?"

"Yes, my trigger-happy weapon lover. A furnace." Vile walked over to the furnace (Read: Big boiler) and opened the hatch, dumping the body inside.

"Feel better?" Asked Dynamo.

"Much. I haven't killed something in over…"

"At least six."

"Huh." Vile rubbed his non-existent chin. "Have I become a little too happy with killing?"

"We're at war. Do try control it so you don't end up killing me, but don't become a patsy."

"Heh heh." The sound of a van rolling up came to the two's ears. "Ah. Our new vehicle is here."

"You first." Dynamo bowed.

"Why, thank you, good sir." Vile walked forward with a stride.

The two were the Odd Couple of War.

* * *

"Lifesaver?" Asked Signas, when the doctor came out of the infirmary.

"He'll be fine. I'm placing him on quarantine, just to be safe. I say…hold on, need to think…oh, about a week before any sort of questioning." Lifesaver handed Signas the report on Glitter Horse.

"Thank you."

"Everyone else is fine. Alia and Pallette have some mental problems, but being around the others help."

"Ah. Good. So if I sent them to locate and deal with the generals together…"

"You're sending the Navigators on a Hunter's mission?"

"They want to. Our Navigators have lost the drive."

"And the war?"

"Gone cold. Reports have stated that Sigma's forces have pulled back. Cities are…mostly free of soldiers."

"What? Sigma has stopped the war?"

"Not stopped, preparing. He has destroyed several cities, ruined countries, and entire continents economies. The world can't take a second attack."

"Sigma is pooling his forces for one huge assault."

"Correct. It sounds risky, but Sigma can afford it. The council has decided to do the same, so we entered the eye of the storm. How long we have, who knows?"

"So if we remove the generals from the equation…"

"Our chances of beating Sigma will increase. Even with the Legion Virus and his increasing power, he can't control everything."

Lifesaver went silent, quietly considering the situation. Resi tapped on Signas' shoulder. "Yes?" He asked.

"I heard about those ass-hats leaving on a grand world tour. They didn't even tell me, and I had a pot of stew ready Where did they go? I want to send them my old and cold stew." She said. Signas smiled.

"We had to move them to the base at Lurie. Douglas also went there to deliver the new equipment."

"Good. It takes, oh, two days to go there? I could use four days to do my thing without him over my shoulder."

"Your thing?"

"Yes, I'm staying. Better than staying at home and watching re-runs of a god-awful soap."

"Blame that on Sigma. He knocked out transmissions."

"Hrmm. I called my boss from the old place to send over my stuff. Combined with what your girls did, I pretty sure I could find a single ant under a fallen 10-story major business building."

"I keep that mind."

Resi had a small laugh. "So…what next?"

Signas' smile faded. He turned around and started to walk away. Resi, a bit annoyed, asked, "Signas? Hey!"

Signas turned around. "Sorry, I was thinking."

"And?" Resi rolled her hand.

"We wait…I guess."

"Wait…for what?"

"…I don't know, exactly."

A silence hung over the entire Hunters base.

* * *

_END OF PART ONE._

_It always begins like this. _

_War. Death. Revenge. Brutality._

_Beginnings are always stained in blood._

_The six shall also be stained._

* * *

_And so…I go._


End file.
